Backlund led Wolf Flames to a 3-1 victory over Kings

Captain Mikael Backlund had a goal and assist to lead the Calgary Flames to a gritty 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

Jonathan Huberdeau with his sixth goal and Kevin Rooney, into an empty net, also scored for Calgary (8-5-3). The Flames have earned points in four straight games (2-0-2).

Trevor Moore scored the only goal for Los Angeles (9-5-3), which lost for the second time in the last seven in regulation (4-2-1).

Rookie netminder Dustin Wolf made 29 stops to improve to 5-2-1. He was 2:31 away from his first NHL shutout when Moore scored as the goaltender was pulled.

Darcy Kuemper, who faced 28 shots, was saddled with the loss, dropping to 4-2-3.

Takeaways

Kings: Phillip Danault’s forward pairing of Moore and Kevin Fiala came into the match well with Danault (1-5-6) and Moore (1-5-6) on equal five-game points streaks, but they were left off the scoresheet. until 17:29 of the third period, when it was Moore’s shot that, after video review, was ruled to have crossed the line, cutting the score to 2–1 and setting up a dramatic ending.

Flames: Going into Monday, only the San Jose Sharks (-14) had a worst first-period goal difference than Calgary (-9), but the home team had a much better opening twenty minutes this evening, beating Los Angeles 10-7 and which presents some dangerous opportunities. While the period ended scoreless, the Flames rode that momentum into the second, where they scored twice, 36 seconds apart, to take the lead.

Key moment

Scoreless midway through the game, Backlund finally broke the ice at 10:42 of the second when an errant Kings pass behind their own net bounced into the slot where Backlund jumped on it and in one move hit a rising shot into the far corner. Kuemper’s glove side.

Key stat

Calgary entered the night ranked 27th on the penalty kill and although they were only tested once, that advantage came from one Los Angeles man with just over two minutes remaining, but despite the Kings pulling the goalie to Playing six skaters against four, they were unable to tie the game.

Next

Kings: Visit the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

Flames: Visit the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2024.