Vegas Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson scrambles to block the net during third period NHL hockey action against the Calgary Flames in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, March 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – Logan Thompson led the way with a 37-save effort and the Vegas Golden Knights picked up a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Nicolas Roy scored in his return from an 18-game absence for Vegas (45-21-6). Jonathan Marchessault and Michael Amadio added the others.
Thompson exited late in the third period for an undisclosed reason. Jonathan Quick played out the final 6:07 of the contest and made fives saves.
Milan Lucic and Nazem Kadri scored for Calgary (32-26-15). Jacob Markstrom stopped 29-of-32 shots in his 11th start in the last 12 games.
In avenging their 7-2 home loss to the Flames on March 16, the Golden Knights earned their seventh win in eight games and are 16-3-2 in their last 21 contests.
It’s a blow to the flickering playoff hopes of the Flames, who entered Thursday four points behind Winnipeg for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Calgary also falls one point back of the Nashville Predators, who hold three games in hand.
Up 2-1 entering the third period, Vegas got some breathing room at 5:19 when a pressure from Roy forced a defensive zone turnover from Rasmus Andersson. Roy then went to the net, received a pass from Phil Kessel and fired a shot over Markstrom.
The Flames crept back to within one at 12:33 when Kadri ended his 16-game goal drought with a power-play marker, but that’s as close as they would get.
Calgary fell to 0-18-3 when trailing after two periods. They’re the only NHL team without a comeback victory this season.
Vegas, which entered the night having outscored teams 70-45 in the first period this year, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening frame, with both goals coming less than four minutes apart.
Jack Eichel sprung Marchessault and Ivan Barbashev on a 2-on-1, with Marchessault patiently holding onto the puck and from the middle of the slot, whipped a shot past Markstrom high on his blocker side at 11:43.
Then it was Amadio taking advantage of a lapse in defensive coverage combined with a slow line change to get free and after being stopped on his first shot, he rattled in his own rebound at 15:23.
Lucic cut the deficit in half with 58 seconds left in the frame. Walker Duehr hustled up the ice after a turnover, fended off some back pressure and zipped a cross-ice pass to Lucic, who sent the puck just under the crossbar and in.
SHOW OF SUPPORT
The Flames wore #SnowyStrong stickers on the back of their helmets in support of assistant general manager Chris Snow’s ongoing battle with ALS. The stickers that feature a blue cornflower, the international symbol of hope for the fight against ALS, were created by a parent from the U9 hockey team in which Snow’s daughter plays and were first worn by that team and its coaches.
STREAKS SNAPPED
Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith had his career-best point streak snapped at nine games (four goals, 11 assists). It equalled the franchise best, also held by Alex Tuch, Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty.
Four Flames also had their scoring streaks come to an end. Defenceman Noah Hanifin at six games, while Tyler Toffoli, Elias Lindholm and Blake Coleman each had their four-game streaks halted.
UP NEXT
Golden Knights: Wrap up their road trip in Edmonton on Saturday night.
Flames: Play host to San Jose in an afternoon game on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2023.
