<p>The Calgary Flames returned home on Saturday night to host the Los Angeles Kings. The Flames were pretty sharp, the Kings were pretty sloppy, and the home side rode a strong performance from their power play to battle their way to a 4-2 victory over the Kings.</p>
<p><em class="text-lg italic"><b>Be sure to check out the latest <a class="text-accent" href="https://betway.com/en/sports/grp/ice-hockey/north-america/nhl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NHL playoff odds</a> with online sportsbook Betway.</b></em></p>
<p>The victory snaps a five game losing streak for the Flames.</p>
<p></p>
<h2><strong>The rundown</strong></h2>
<p>The Flames had a strong start to the game, and ended up opening scoring just shy of five minutes into the contest.</p>
<p>After Mikael Backlund drew a high-sticking minor penalty, the Flames&#8217; power play went to work&#8230; and scored extremely quickly. After an offensive zone face-off win, the Flames cycled the puck and Andrei Kuzmenko found Nazem Kadri parked in front of the Kings&#8217; net. Kadri poked the puck past David Rittich to give Calgary a 1-0 lead.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nazem Kadri opens the scoring on the power play! Great pass by Andrei Kuzmenko to find him in the slot.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LAKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LAKings</a><br />📽️: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/SmbEisTPfE">pic.twitter.com/SmbEisTPfE</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774261353781575843?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The Kings got a power play of their own shortly thereafter, with Joel Hanley heading to the box for holding. Eight seconds into the Kings&#8217; advantage, Adrian Kempe leaned into a one-timer feed from Drew Doughty and fired it past Jacob Markstrom to make it a 1-1 hockey game.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adrian Kempa ties the game. It&#39;s 1-1 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoKingsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoKingsGo</a><br />📽️: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/G6oh0gPOze">pic.twitter.com/G6oh0gPOze</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774262039135109298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Just past the midway mark of the first, the Flames grabbed another lead. This time, they won a puck battle inside the Kings&#8217; blueline and took the puck to the net with a nice passing sequence. It ended with Kuzmenko finding Martin Pospisil at the far side of the net for a quick redirect that gave the Flames a 2-1 lead.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Andrei Kuzmenko finds Martin Pospisil who puts the puck in the back of the net! </p>
<p>2-1 Calgary <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoKingsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoKingsGo</a><br />📽️: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/opXT7j4JKJ">pic.twitter.com/opXT7j4JKJ</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774265016939839898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>First period shots were 16-4 Flames (12-3 Flames at five-on-five) and, via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 11-6 Flames (high-dangers were 4-2 Flames).</p>
<p>Midway through the second period, the Flames got some insurance as their power play scored again. After Matt Coronato drew a minor, the Flames&#8217; second unit grabbed a goal. Rasmus Andersson&#8217;s point shot was stopped by Rittich, but Blake Coleman grabbed the rebound and chipped it into the net to make it 3-1 Flames.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blake Coleman scores his team leading 29th goal of the season! </p>
<p>It&#39;s 3-1 Calgary! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoKingsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoKingsGo</a><br />📽️: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/RNnhU9vwUG">pic.twitter.com/RNnhU9vwUG</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774278218226565470?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>But the Kings responded back with another power play goal before the end of the second period. With Connor Zary in the sin bin, Andersson was hobbled by a shot block, which opened a passing lane from Kempe to Anze Kopitar for a quick redirection past Markstrom to cut the home side&#8217;s lead to 3-2.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Anze Kopitar scores on the power play</p>
<p>3-2 Calgary <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoKingsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoKingsGo</a><br />📽️: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/SBEoVF61qO">pic.twitter.com/SBEoVF61qO</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774280655951872297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Second period shots were 9-5 Flames (3-1 Flames at five-on-five) and five-on-five scoring chances were 5-4 Flames (high-dangers were 1-1).</p>
<p>The Kings pressed throughout the third period, but Markstrom made a lot of sharp saves.</p>
<p>The Flames added to their lead on the power play, as MacKenzie Weegar snuck down from the point after a face-off win and fired a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau past Rittich to make it 4-2 Flames.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Putting MacKenzie Weegar on the top power play unit pays off! He put s the Flames up 4-2! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoKingsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoKingsGo</a><br />📽️: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/e6s5B5h3hY">pic.twitter.com/e6s5B5h3hY</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774291944333857116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>The Kings pulled Rittich for the extra attacker and pressed late in regulation. But the Flames held on for the victory.</p>
<p>Third period shots were 10-9 Flames (8-7 Kings at five-on-five) and five-on-five scoring chances were 10-6 Flames (high-dangers were 3-3).</p>
<h2><strong>Why the Flames won</strong></h2>
<p>Let&#8217;s give the home side credit: they were sharp in this one. They played with pace and structure, and they jumped all over the miscues the Kings made. And, to their credit, the Kings made quite a few miscues. They were far from sharp, and the Flames seemed perfectly content to take what was given to them.</p>
<p>The Flames were rock-solid at five-on-five and won the special teams battle. On most evenings, that will earn your side two points.</p>
<p><em><strong>Flames Game Day content is presented by Betway!</strong></em></p>
<h2><a href="https://betway.com/bwp/flamesnation/en-ca/?utm_source=228386&amp;utm_medium=Affiliate&amp;utm_campaign=AFF4115833285422425"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-123581" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/1266225-_Podcast_Flames_Nation_1920x1080-1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/1266225-_Podcast_Flames_Nation_1920x1080-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/1266225-_Podcast_Flames_Nation_1920x1080-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/1266225-_Podcast_Flames_Nation_1920x1080-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/1266225-_Podcast_Flames_Nation_1920x1080-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/1266225-_Podcast_Flames_Nation_1920x1080-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></h2>
<h2><strong>Red Warrior</strong></h2>
<p>We&#8217;re giving a joint award. Kadri was superb in this game and his line was quite effective, especially in the offensive zone. And while Markstrom was terribly busy, he was flat-out excellent in the third period. When the Flames were clinging to a one goal lead, he was a big, big difference-maker for them.</p>
<h2><strong>Turning point</strong></h2>
<p>We&#8217;re going to broadly say the Flames&#8217; power plays. Yes, all of them. On a lot of occasions, they just haven&#8217;t been very good when up a man and it&#8217;s hurt them, actually helping disrupt any momentum built at five-on-five. Against the Kings, the PP units were really effective and made the Kings&#8217; night miserable.</p>
<h2><strong>This and that</strong></h2>
<p>After missing Thursday&#8217;s game in St. Louis with a minor ailment, Oliver Kylington slotted back into the lineup. Nikita Okhotiuk was bumped to the sidelines as a result.</p>
<p>This was the South Asian Celebration game at the Saddledome. There was a lot of great merch made with an alternate logo by local artist Zoe Harveen Kaur Sihota, a ceremonial puck drop, and performers at each intermission. As usual, the Flames&#8217; event staff did a fabulous job.</p>
<p>The last time the Flames scored three power play goals in a single game, it was Feb. 22, 2023 against Arizona.</p>
<h2><strong>Up next</strong></h2>
<p>The Flames (34-34-5) host the Anaheim Ducks at the &#8216;Dome on Tuesday night.</p>

The Calgary Flames returned home on Saturday night to host the Los Angeles Kings. The Flames were pretty sharp, the Kings were pretty sloppy, and the home side rode a strong performance from their power play to battle their way to a 4-2 victory over the Kings.

<em class="text-lg italic"><b>Be sure to check out the latest <a class="text-accent" href="https://betway.com/en/sports/grp/ice-hockey/north-america/nhl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NHL playoff odds</a> with online sportsbook Betway.</b></em>

The victory snaps a five game losing streak for the Flames.


<h2><strong>The rundown</strong></h2>
The Flames had a strong start to the game, and ended up opening scoring just shy of five minutes into the contest.

After Mikael Backlund drew a high-sticking minor penalty, the Flames' power play went to work... and scored extremely quickly. After an offensive zone face-off win, the Flames cycled the puck and Andrei Kuzmenko found Nazem Kadri parked in front of the Kings' net. Kadri poked the puck past David Rittich to give Calgary a 1-0 lead.

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774261353781575843

The Kings got a power play of their own shortly thereafter, with Joel Hanley heading to the box for holding. Eight seconds into the Kings' advantage, Adrian Kempe leaned into a one-timer feed from Drew Doughty and fired it past Jacob Markstrom to make it a 1-1 hockey game.

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774262039135109298

Just past the midway mark of the first, the Flames grabbed another lead. This time, they won a puck battle inside the Kings' blueline and took the puck to the net with a nice passing sequence. It ended with Kuzmenko finding Martin Pospisil at the far side of the net for a quick redirect that gave the Flames a 2-1 lead.

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774265016939839898

First period shots were 16-4 Flames (12-3 Flames at five-on-five) and, via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 11-6 Flames (high-dangers were 4-2 Flames).

Midway through the second period, the Flames got some insurance as their power play scored again. After Matt Coronato drew a minor, the Flames' second unit grabbed a goal. Rasmus Andersson's point shot was stopped by Rittich, but Blake Coleman grabbed the rebound and chipped it into the net to make it 3-1 Flames.

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774278218226565470

But the Kings responded back with another power play goal before the end of the second period. With Connor Zary in the sin bin, Andersson was hobbled by a shot block, which opened a passing lane from Kempe to Anze Kopitar for a quick redirection past Markstrom to cut the home side's lead to 3-2.

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774280655951872297

Second period shots were 9-5 Flames (3-1 Flames at five-on-five) and five-on-five scoring chances were 5-4 Flames (high-dangers were 1-1).

The Kings pressed throughout the third period, but Markstrom made a lot of sharp saves.

The Flames added to their lead on the power play, as MacKenzie Weegar snuck down from the point after a face-off win and fired a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau past Rittich to make it 4-2 Flames.

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1774291944333857116

The Kings pulled Rittich for the extra attacker and pressed late in regulation. But the Flames held on for the victory.

Third period shots were 10-9 Flames (8-7 Kings at five-on-five) and five-on-five scoring chances were 10-6 Flames (high-dangers were 3-3).
<h2><strong>Why the Flames won</strong></h2>
Let's give the home side credit: they were sharp in this one. They played with pace and structure, and they jumped all over the miscues the Kings made. And, to their credit, the Kings made quite a few miscues. They were far from sharp, and the Flames seemed perfectly content to take what was given to them.

The Flames were rock-solid at five-on-five and won the special teams battle. On most evenings, that will earn your side two points.

<em><strong>Flames Game Day content is presented by Betway!</strong></em>
<h2><a href="https://betway.com/bwp/flamesnation/en-ca/?utm_source=228386&amp;utm_medium=Affiliate&amp;utm_campaign=AFF4115833285422425"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-123581" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/1266225-_Podcast_Flames_Nation_1920x1080-1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" /></a></h2>
<h2><strong>Red Warrior</strong></h2>
We're giving a joint award. Kadri was superb in this game and his line was quite effective, especially in the offensive zone. And while Markstrom was terribly busy, he was flat-out excellent in the third period. When the Flames were clinging to a one goal lead, he was a big, big difference-maker for them.
<h2><strong>Turning point</strong></h2>
We're going to broadly say the Flames' power plays. Yes, all of them. On a lot of occasions, they just haven't been very good when up a man and it's hurt them, actually helping disrupt any momentum built at five-on-five. Against the Kings, the PP units were really effective and made the Kings' night miserable.
<h2><strong>This and that</strong></h2>
After missing Thursday's game in St. Louis with a minor ailment, Oliver Kylington slotted back into the lineup. Nikita Okhotiuk was bumped to the sidelines as a result.

This was the South Asian Celebration game at the Saddledome. There was a lot of great merch made with an alternate logo by local artist Zoe Harveen Kaur Sihota, a ceremonial puck drop, and performers at each intermission. As usual, the Flames' event staff did a fabulous job.

The last time the Flames scored three power play goals in a single game, it was Feb. 22, 2023 against Arizona.
<h2><strong>Up next</strong></h2>
The Flames (34-34-5) host the Anaheim Ducks at the 'Dome on Tuesday night.

Calgary Flames Post-Game: Special teams powers Flames to win over Kings

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