<p><em class="text-lg italic">Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!</em></p>
<p>All good things must come to an end.</p>
<p>On Thursday evening, the Calgary Flames played their last game of the season, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 to finish with 96 points for the season. Let’s take a look at what happened in this game!</p>
<h2>The rundown</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Early in the second period, the Flames had a nice cycle going. A pass from the point was deflected behind the net by Adam Klapka to Nazem Kadri. He came from behind the net to score his 34th goal of the season after ripping it past David Rittich.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥</p>
<p>Nazem Kadri opens the scoring in LA! That&#39;s his 34th goal of the year! </p>
<p>🎥: Sportsnet | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> <a href="https://t.co/Jkaawg0Y3a">pic.twitter.com/Jkaawg0Y3a</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913060671799038417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That was all the scoring there was until the third period. Just over six minutes into the final frame, the Flames broke out on a three-on-one, with Dryden Hunt passing it to Ryan Lomberg, who passed it to Sam Morton for the tap-in goal. It was the 25-year-old’s first National Hockey League goal.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥</p>
<p>SAM MORTON SCORES HIS FIRST NHL GOAL! </p>
<p>🎥: Sportsnet | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> <a href="https://t.co/IvH3f6I6qU">pic.twitter.com/IvH3f6I6qU</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913076400308838517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>A<span style="font-weight: 400;">bout a minute later, the Flames had another odd-man rush. Hunt also happened to lead this one, saucing it over to Kadri for his second goal of the game and his 35th of the season, expanding on his career-high.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥</p>
<p>Dryden Hunt makes an incredible saucer pass to find Nazem Kadri and he buries it! </p>
<p>🎥: Sportsnet | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> <a href="https://t.co/8tRQAzFE9x">pic.twitter.com/8tRQAzFE9x</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913076969065074972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Flames’ goal-scoring continued just a minute later. Zayne Parekh had the puck at the blue line, passed it to captain Mikael Backlund and got into a scoring position. The Flames’ top prospect tipped Backlund’s point shot past Big Save Dave to give the Flames a 4-0 lead.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥</p>
<p>ZAYNE PAREKH SCORES HIS FIRST NHL GOAL! </p>
<p>🎥: Sportsnet | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> <a href="https://t.co/go4pJwTi8Y">pic.twitter.com/go4pJwTi8Y</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913078091657974217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the scoring party didn’t stop there as the captain got in on the action. With about eight and a half minutes left in the game, Backlund got a zone entry, made a nice move to change the angle, and ripped it by Rittich for the 5-0 lead.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥</p>
<p>Mikael Backlund rips a shot past David Rittich! It&#39;s 5-0 Calgary! </p>
<p>🎥: Sportsnet | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> <a href="https://t.co/1WYZMadbjG">pic.twitter.com/1WYZMadbjG</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913078959488532692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Parekh and Morton weren’t the only players to score their first goals in their first game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Hunter Brzustewicz or Aydar Suniev, as Daniel Vladař’s shutout was snapped by Taylor Ward with a little over six minutes left in the game.</span></p>
<h2>Why the Flames won</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Netminder Daniel Vladař was a big reason why the Flames won this game, stopping 30 of 31 shots for a .968 save percentage. He wasn’t the only reason, as the Flames continued to show the heart that made them so darn exciting to watch all season long.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It helped the Flames’ cause that after two slow periods, the Flames broke out with four goals in five and a half minutes.</span></p>
<h2>Red Warrior</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are so many players you could give it to. For his performance, Vladař deserves a nomination. You could also look at Sam Morton and Zayne Parekh, who each scored their first goal in their first game. Dryden Hunt picked up two assists as well.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Realistically, I want to give the Red Warrior to the entire 2024-25 Flames team. It was my first full season covering the team for Flame Nation, and oh man, was it ever exciting tuning into this team all season long. The heart that they showed, the drive to never give up, and the fact that it came down to the wire to determine if they made the post-season or not made this season awesome.</span></p>
<h2>Turning point</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s hard not to point to the four goals in five and a half minutes as the turning point of the game. Before that, it was a tight game, wondering if they’d win or not. After that, it was pretty easy to breathe.</span></p>
<h2>This and that</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Overall, the Flames finished with a 40-27-14 record, good enough for 96 points. That’s tied for the most number of points by a team that didn’t make the post-season.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the same time, it’s a little bit heartbreaking that the Flames aren’t playing hockey until the fall. If one thing went differently, say the Ducks hold on to their 2-1 lead on Tuesday, or the Flames don’t blow the 3-1 lead, or one of their 14 overtime losses end in a victory, the Flames would be playing at least four more games.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, the team proved it’s further along in the rebuild than previously thought. Dustin Wolf is a legitimate game-changer between the pipes, and there aren’t a whole lot of teams that can say they have a game-changing netminder. Another good draft in June, and this franchise will be set up nicely for the future, even without an elite talent like Gavin McKenna, for example.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking of the future, it arrived in Thursday’s game. Both Zayne Parekh and Sam Morton scored their first NHL goals, while Hunter Brzustewicz and Aydar Suniev played in their first NHL games. The Flames have an exciting prospect pool with veterans who are still playing at a high level.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Until next season!</span></p>
<h2>Up next</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Flames’ season concluded with this win. See you in October!</span></p>
<hr />
<p><strong><i>Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/combinations">FlamesNation</a>, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.</i></strong></p>
<h1>This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi</h1>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-138031" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/Platinum-Mitsubishi-NDS-Screen-Res-1.png" alt="" width="414" height="140" srcset="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/Platinum-Mitsubishi-NDS-Screen-Res-1.png 414w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/Platinum-Mitsubishi-NDS-Screen-Res-1-300x101.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 414px) 100vw, 414px" /></p>
<p>This article is a Presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at <a href="http://www.mitsu.ca" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.mitsu.ca&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737766788077000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1IDdhb5Us0lSTEz-MS7q_U">www.mitsu.ca</a></p>


<em class="text-lg italic">Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!</em>

All good things must come to an end.

On Thursday evening, the Calgary Flames played their last game of the season, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 to finish with 96 points for the season. Let’s take a look at what happened in this game!
<h2>The rundown</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Early in the second period, the Flames had a nice cycle going. A pass from the point was deflected behind the net by Adam Klapka to Nazem Kadri. He came from behind the net to score his 34th goal of the season after ripping it past David Rittich.</span>

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913060671799038417

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">That was all the scoring there was until the third period. Just over six minutes into the final frame, the Flames broke out on a three-on-one, with Dryden Hunt passing it to Ryan Lomberg, who passed it to Sam Morton for the tap-in goal. It was the 25-year-old’s first National Hockey League goal.</span>

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913076400308838517

A<span style="font-weight: 400;">bout a minute later, the Flames had another odd-man rush. Hunt also happened to lead this one, saucing it over to Kadri for his second goal of the game and his 35th of the season, expanding on his career-high.</span>

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913076969065074972

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Flames’ goal-scoring continued just a minute later. Zayne Parekh had the puck at the blue line, passed it to captain Mikael Backlund and got into a scoring position. The Flames’ top prospect tipped Backlund’s point shot past Big Save Dave to give the Flames a 4-0 lead.</span>

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913078091657974217

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the scoring party didn’t stop there as the captain got in on the action. With about eight and a half minutes left in the game, Backlund got a zone entry, made a nice move to change the angle, and ripped it by Rittich for the 5-0 lead.</span>

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1913078959488532692

&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Parekh and Morton weren’t the only players to score their first goals in their first game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Hunter Brzustewicz or Aydar Suniev, as Daniel Vladař’s shutout was snapped by Taylor Ward with a little over six minutes left in the game.</span>
<h2>Why the Flames won</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Netminder Daniel Vladař was a big reason why the Flames won this game, stopping 30 of 31 shots for a .968 save percentage. He wasn’t the only reason, as the Flames continued to show the heart that made them so darn exciting to watch all season long.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">It helped the Flames’ cause that after two slow periods, the Flames broke out with four goals in five and a half minutes.</span>
<h2>Red Warrior</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">There are so many players you could give it to. For his performance, Vladař deserves a nomination. You could also look at Sam Morton and Zayne Parekh, who each scored their first goal in their first game. Dryden Hunt picked up two assists as well.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Realistically, I want to give the Red Warrior to the entire 2024-25 Flames team. It was my first full season covering the team for Flame Nation, and oh man, was it ever exciting tuning into this team all season long. The heart that they showed, the drive to never give up, and the fact that it came down to the wire to determine if they made the post-season or not made this season awesome.</span>
<h2>Turning point</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s hard not to point to the four goals in five and a half minutes as the turning point of the game. Before that, it was a tight game, wondering if they’d win or not. After that, it was pretty easy to breathe.</span>
<h2>This and that</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Overall, the Flames finished with a 40-27-14 record, good enough for 96 points. That’s tied for the most number of points by a team that didn’t make the post-season.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">At the same time, it’s a little bit heartbreaking that the Flames aren’t playing hockey until the fall. If one thing went differently, say the Ducks hold on to their 2-1 lead on Tuesday, or the Flames don’t blow the 3-1 lead, or one of their 14 overtime losses end in a victory, the Flames would be playing at least four more games.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, the team proved it’s further along in the rebuild than previously thought. Dustin Wolf is a legitimate game-changer between the pipes, and there aren’t a whole lot of teams that can say they have a game-changing netminder. Another good draft in June, and this franchise will be set up nicely for the future, even without an elite talent like Gavin McKenna, for example.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking of the future, it arrived in Thursday’s game. Both Zayne Parekh and Sam Morton scored their first NHL goals, while Hunter Brzustewicz and Aydar Suniev played in their first NHL games. The Flames have an exciting prospect pool with veterans who are still playing at a high level.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Until next season!</span>
<h2>Up next</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Flames’ season concluded with this win. See you in October!</span>

<hr />

<strong><i>Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/combinations">FlamesNation</a>, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.</i></strong>
<h1>This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi</h1>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-138031" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/Platinum-Mitsubishi-NDS-Screen-Res-1.png" alt="" width="414" height="140" />

This article is a Presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at <a href="http://www.mitsu.ca" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.mitsu.ca&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737766788077000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1IDdhb5Us0lSTEz-MS7q_U">www.mitsu.ca</a>

Instant Reaction: Flames down Kings in final game of the 2024-25 season

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