Flames bring the heat in beating struggling Canucks 3-1

Vancouver Canucks' Max Sasson, centre, is checked by Calgary Flames' Rasmus Andersson, left, as goalie Dustin Wolf looks on during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Nazem Kadri's 14th goal of the season snapped a 1-1 tie midway through the third period and the Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Tuesday.

Connor Zary and Jonathan Huberdeau, into an empty net, also scored for Calgary (18-12-7). The Flames leapfrog the Canucks and move into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Flames have lost just once in regulation in their last seven (4-1-2).

Brock Boeser scored the lone goal for Vancouver (17-11-8). The Canucks have just one win in their last six (1-2-3).

Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf had 23 stops to improve to 12-5-2.

After sitting out five of the last six with Thatcher Demko's return, Kevin Lankinen had 26 stops in his return to the crease. He falls to 14-6-4.

The New Year's Eve clash had its share of fireworks in the second period when there were three fights over a six-minute span — two of them featuring Calgary's Ryan Lomberg. In the middle of that was another melee that ensued when Noah Juulsen caught Mikael Backlund with a knee-on-knee trip that resulted in MacKenzie Weegar going after Juulsen.

Takeaways

Canucks: Playing their second game without leading scorers Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, both sidelined with undisclosed injuries, the only offence came from the red-hot Boeser, who extended his goals streak to four games. The Canucks right-winger has six goals during that span and is up to 14 on the season.

Flames: Zary's goal comes in his 100th NHL game and it was a goal that the entire line was in on. The sequence began with Weegar's long pass that put Jakob Pelletier on a breakaway. While Pelletier was thwarted, the puck remained in front with Yegor Sharangovich knocking it over to Zary, who knocked in his ninth of the season.

Key moment

Three minutes after the Canucks tied it on the power play, the Flames retook the lead on Kadri's goal at 9:18 of the third period. Continuing his resurgent season, Huberdeau set up Kadri by threading a perfect pass through the slot on a 3-on-2 rush that Kadri fired just inside the post.

Key stat

In an intriguing showdown between Wolf, one of the NHL's best goaltenders at home, and Lankinen, among the NHL's best on the road, Wolf improves to 10-1-1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome while Lankinen's sterling record away from Rogers Arena falls to 10-2-1.

Up next

Canucks: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

Flames: Host the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2024.