The Flames slay the Golden Knights in the third period

However, another giveaway by the Flames later in the period led to Vegas opening the scoring. The fourth line and third pairing were hemmed in and battling below the goal line. Brayden Pachal won a battle, but then threw the puck backhanded towards the slot area, where a pinching Shea Theodore intercepted it, passed to Anthony Mantha, and Mantha’s shot beat a sprawling Wolf to give Vegas a 1-0 lead.

Second period shots 12-11 Flames (11-9 Flames at five-on-five) and five-on-five scoring chances were 10-7 Flames (high-dangers were 5-1 Flames).

The Flames got a power play early in the third period, after Nazem Kadri ate a check from Nic Hague on a zone entry. They didn’t score on that power play, but shortly after the penalty expired, they drew even. Oliver Kylington drove into the zone and fed a drop pass to Dryden Hunt. Hunt threw a pass to Yegor Sharangovich in the slot area. Sharangovich chipped a shot past Adin Hill to tie the game at 1-1.

An end-to-end sequence saw the game swing back towards the Flames. First, Ivan Barbashev got a breakaway chance in on Wolf, but Wolf made a big stop. The play went the other way, where Nazem Kadri battled his way into the Vegas zone. He threw the puck into the net-front area, where Blake Coleman jammed it past Hill to give the Flames a 2-1 lead.

A few minutes later, the Flames got some insurance off a nice bit of battling and execution. Hunt and Matt Coronato entered the offensive zone, with Hunt carrying the puck. Hunt drew the defenders over, then threw a pass across to Coronato, who fired the puck past Hill to make it 3-1.

Coleman added an empty-netter to make it 4-1 Flames.

Why the Flames won
 

The Flames had tons of chances and scoring chances through two periods, but they couldn’t beat Hill. In the third period, they managed to turn chances into goals. It wasn’t a perfect 60 minutes of hockey for the home side, but they did a really nice job out-working Vegas.

Red Warrior

Let’s give it to Wolf. When the Flames were iffy in their own end, he was superb. The only blemish on his evening was a shot he had absolutely zero chance on.

Turning point

Let’s give it to Wolf’s breakaway save on Barbashev. If that shot goes in, it’s an entirely different ballgame.

This and that

The Flames wore their black alternate jerseys for the 11th time this season. They’ll wear them twice more in April.

Up next

The Flames (32-29-5) are back in action on Saturday night in the early game on Hockey Night in Canada against the Montreal Canadiens.