A three-goal first period from the Calgary Flames on Sunday night got them off to a fast start as they cruised to a 6-3 win over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights.
The first period outburst was reminiscent of the Flames early season success.
The win pushed the Flames back into first place, ahead of the San Jose Sharks.
Matthew Tkachuk had a hat trick for Flames – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“We didn’t talk about it today at all, but I mean, I would assume if you asked every guy and they gave their honest answer … we don’t want to be trailing anybody,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “We want to win the division. We don’t want to finish second, third, fourth, fifth. You never want to be chasing teams, and I think it was a little extra motivation.”
Tkachuk had a hat trick in the win.
David Rittich made 25 saves for the win.
Mark Stone, Reilly Smith and Brandon Pirri scored for the Knights.
“They’re a good team for a reason,” Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty said of the Flames. “They were hungry for that win tonight.”
Mikael Backlund added two goals for the Flames.
“Every time you end a losing streak, it always feels good,” Backlund said. “Your shoulders lower a little bit and you get some smiles. I thought right off in the morning and before the game guys were excited, energized. It was a good feeling, I thought, before the game.
“Before in this stretch, it can get a little tough on the group. I thought today we all came in with a smile on our face and were excited to play, and I think that showed on the ice.”
Andrew Mangiapane added a single marker in the win when he opened the scoring in the first period.
“I thought we could’ve even had a couple more,” Tkachuk said. “We weren’t in the D-zone too much. All in all, a pretty good night.”
Vegas’ six-game winning streak came to end and they dropped to 38-27-5.
“The keys to the game were have a good start, and we didn’t,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. “That’s basically what cost us the game at the end of the day.”
The Flames improved to 42-20-7.
“It was fun. I think the biggest key was we won the game. We are happy that we could help the team to win and stop the losing streak. We need to keep going and keep building. It was a good night for our line. Hopefully we can keep it going,” Michael Frolik said after the game.
Frolik had three assists in the win.
[WATCH: All Golden Knights vs. Flames highlights]
Malcolm Subban made 29 saves in the loss.
“Our first period wasn’t great, but we came back and gave ourselves a chance to win the game. The opportunities were there. We just weren’t able to put it into the net,” Pacioretty said.
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