San Jose Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen, left, blocks the net as Calgary Flames forward Tyler Toffoli shoots wide during third period NHL hockey action in Calgary, Wednesday, April 12, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – Led by Nikita Zadorov’s first career hat trick, the Calgary Flames concluded a disappointing regular season on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
Calgary (38-27-17) finishes fifth in the Pacific with 93 points, a year after winning the division with 111 points. The Flames have missed the playoffs in nine of their last 14 seasons and made the post-season in consecutive years just once over that span.
Noah Gregor scored for San Jose (22-43-16), who will miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season.
Making 23 stops for the Flames to win his NHL debut was 21-year-old Dustin Wolf, the Flames seventh-round pick in 2019.
At the other end, Kaapo Kahkonen had 46 stops for San Jose. His record falls to 9-20-7.
Wolf – who hails from Gilroy, Cali., where he grew up a San Jose Sharks fan – was recalled for the game from the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers where he leads the league with 41 wins.
Solid when called upon, one of Wolf’s biggest stops came with five minutes remaining when he thwarted Logan Couture from 15 feet out after the Sharks’ leading scorer was set up in the slot.
Zadorov put the Flames into the lead 4:01 into the third when he took a pass from his defence partner, MacKenzie Weegar, and snapped a shot from the blue line that found the top corner.
Providing a partial screen on the play and waving his stick at the puck in an attempt to deflect it was right-winger Matt Coronato, who was also making his NHL debut.
The 20-year-old selected in the first round of the 2021 NHL draft, signed with Calgary on March 26 after his college season with Harvard ended.
Coronato played on a line with fellow rookie Jakob Pelletier and Nazem Kadri, and showed his offensive instincts throughout the night, generating a few scoring chances and finishing with four shots on goal.
His best chance came early in the second when he stepped out of the penalty box and collected a loose puck at centre. He broke in off the left wing, but Kahkonen made a pad stop.
Zadorov’s third goal came into an empty net with a minute remaining, prompting hats to come raining down onto the ice from the home crowd.
Down 1-0 after the first period, Calgary tied the game at 13:36 of the second when Mikael Backlund’s centring pass was deflected by Andrew Mangiapane right to Zadorov, who quickly snapped a shot inside the near post.
San Jose opened the scoring 10:26 into the game when Gregor got loose down the left wing and after his first shot was stopped by Wolf, he buried his own rebound.
FIRST-YEAR FIZZLE
After finishing tied for second in league scoring last year with 115 points (30 goals, 85 assists) while a member of the Florida Panthers, Jonathan Huberdeau ends the season with just 55 points (15 goals, 40 assists). Free agent signing Nazem Kadri, also in his first season with the Flames after winning the Stanley Cup with Colorado last season, saw his production fall from 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists) last year to 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists).
UP NEXT
Sharks: Wrap up the season Thursday in Edmonton.
Flames: Are done until next season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2023.
