In Calgary, the Flames’ pilot light went out on Thursday in a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights.
For Vegas, the win pushed them to within two points of a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Logan Thompson made 35 saves in the Vegas win.
“We came and we did what we needed to do,” Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. “We’re obviously a more desperate team than they are as far as the standings go. I thought we came in, the first five minutes we were feeling it out, but the first goal was big for us to tie it up. I really liked our game. We had to win that game. They’re in a position where they don’t have to win this time of year.”
Dillon Dube was the lone striker for the Flames, his goal gave them a 1-0 lead in the first period.
Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson had a goal and three points each in the win.
“Unbelievable. Best game of the season. We were good everywhere,” Marchessault said. ” Obviously, they had a good goal there at the beginning, but good teams find a way to win a game. Really proud of our team tonight.”
Calgary dropped to 45-20-9.
“[The Golden Knights are a] very desperate team, fighting for their lives,” Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk said. “With the season they’ve had, we know that they’re a way better team than what the standings show, and ultimately if you want to go far this year, it’s going to have to go through them.
“It’s unfortunate that we kind of we dropped the ball against them tonight. Hopefully we get another crack at them.”
Jack Eichel had a single marker for the Knights in the win, his goal tied the game, 1-1, in the first period.
“We’re a veteran group,” Marchessault said. “We know the importance of points at this time of the year, and we’ve worked hard the past month and a half to come back into a situation [where] we can control our destiny. And that’s what we’re going to do for the rest of the year.”
Nicolas Roy and Evgenii Dadonov had a goal and two points each for Vegas.
Michael Amadio also scored for Vegas.
Jacob Markstrom got the start for the Flames, and yielded four goals while making 13 saves. He was given the hook in the middle frame.
Dan Vladar made six saves and surrendered two goals in relief.
“I don’t like doing that. I’ve said that always,” coach Darryl Sutter said. “I’m not a guy who pulls goalies, but I think tonight was different. The other night was trying to get some momentum out of our team because it was after the second period. Tonight, I thought the players really let him down. I didn’t want to leave him in there.”
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