With a playoff spot hanging in the balance, the virtual Calgary Flames hosted a key Pacific Division rival in the form of the Vegas Golden Knights on April 2. The two clubs battled in a playoff style game, with the Flames fighting their way to a 2-1 overtime win.

Lineups

Flames:
  • Forwards: Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm, Mangiapane-Backlund-Tkachuk, Lucic-Ryan-Dube, Bennett-Jankowski-Rieder
  • Defense: Giordano-Brodie, Hanifin-Hamonic, Gustafsson-Andersson
  • Goalies: Talbot starting, Rittich as backup
Golden Knights:
  • Forwards: Marchessault-Stastny-Smith, Pacioretty-Karlsson-Roy, Carrier-Cousins-Pirri, Merrill-Nosek-Reaves
  • Defense: McNabb-Schmidt, Martinez-Theodore, Holden-Whitecloud
  • Goalies: Fleury starting, with Lehner as backup

Results

The game was incredibly tight-checking, with Vegas getting the better of many early exchanges. The Flames, caught on their heels a bit, had to kill off three Vegas power plays. The Flames opened the scoring midway through the third but gave up the lead with 35 seconds remaining in regulation. But the Flames managed to win in overtime, scoring at four-on-four after a power play of their own in extra time.
Score
Scoring Line
Details
1-0 Flames
Hanifin 6 (Lindholm 31, Andersson 18) 8:41 third
Point shot through traffic.
1-1 tie
Smith (Stastny) 19:25 third
One-timer off the cycle.
2-1 Flames
Tkachuk 29 (Backlund 36, Dube 13) 3:53 overtime
Rebound off initial rush chance.

Three Stars

  1. Cam Talbot (Flames)
  2. Noah Hanifin (Flames)
  3. Matthew Tkachuk (Flames)

Updated Standings

With the win, the Flames move to 43-31-7 and have 93 points. Updating the remainder of the relevant Western Conference standings with the Athletic’s game-by-game projections, here’s how things look at the end of the night on April 2.
Pacific Division
  1. y – Vancouver – 99 points
  2. Vegas – 94 points
  3. Calgary – 93 points
  4. Edmonton – 92 points
  5. Arizona – 86 points (eliminated)
  6. Anaheim – 75 points (eliminated)
  7. Los Angeles – 71 points (eliminated)
  8. San Jose – 66 points (eliminated)
Wild Cards
  1. Minnesota – 93 points
  2. Edmonton – 92 points
  3. Winnipeg – 92 points
  4. Nashville – 91 points
The playoff races in the Pacific are going to go down to the wire, as even Vegas can technically still fall out of the picture.