The house wins on Hockey Night in Canada. The Calgary Flames continued their strong play on home ice [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/latest-news/flames-rally-in-the-third-to-edge-kraken-3-2] Saturday night, earning a 6–3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Mikael Backlund led the way with two goals, while Connor Zary and Mackenzie Weegar each recorded three assists. Weegar’s performance included the 200th assist of his NHL career. Ryan Lomberg, Adam Klapka, Joel Farabee and Jonathan Huberdeau also scored for Calgary, while Devin Cooley turned aside 34 shots to secure his fourth win of the season. The Flames went All-In early, and with Hockey Night in Canada spotlighting the matchup, the Flames delivered an energetic start. Calgary opened the scoring at 3:54 when Zary drove the net and created a rebound that found its way to Backlund, who shoveled the puck home for his eighth goal of the season. © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/edcfa9a3-85de-4711-be01-6c3784adb020.jpeg] © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images The Flames extended the lead at 8:42 after sustained pressure in the Vegas zone. Yan Kuznetsov’s point shot made its way through traffic and deflected off Klapka in front, slipping past Akira Schmid to make it 2–0. Vegas responded at 10:02 when Riley Smith broke in alone, made a move to the backhand, and beat Cooley to cut the deficit to one on just the Knights’ third shot of the game. Calgary answered again at 15:45 as Zary picked off a pass in his own zone and led a 2-on-0 rush with Lomberg, who finished the play to restore the two-goal advantage. Moments later, Lomberg dropped the gloves with Jeremy Lauzon following the ensuing faceoff, igniting the Saddledome crowd. Calgary carried a 12–6 edge in shots after the opening 20 minutes. © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f85bbb02-66cd-4fb9-9319-0f42692e5ef4.jpeg] © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images The second period featured steady pace and flow, and the Flames capitalized. At 8:38, Backlund drove the net and stayed with the play, sliding home his second goal of the night off a pass from Weegar, with Zary picking up the secondary assist. The goal gave Calgary a 5–1 lead and marked Weegar’s 200th career NHL assist. Vegas pulled one back at 14:34 when Kaeden Korczak fired a shot through traffic that eluded Cooley, making it 5–2. The Golden Knights pushed in the final frame, outshooting the Flames 21-5 and applying sustained pressure, generating several quality chances. Mark Stone converted on the power play, batting a bouncing puck into the net to bring Vegas within two at 5–3. However, with the Vegas net empty, Huberdeau scored into the empty net to seal it for the Flames. © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f26d8dba-133b-4b94-9a85-347232cdf4b8.jpeg] © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images THREE TAKEAWAYS: Brzustewicz Settling In: Hunter Brzustewicz continues to look comfortable at the NHL leve [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/latest-news/hunter-brzustewicz-shows-poise-in-season-debut]l. In his fifth game since being recalled, he made mature reads, directed pucks to the net, and even rang a shot off the post. He looks close to finding his first NHL goal any game now. Triple Chip Performances: Zary recorded his first multi-point game of the season with three assists and now has four assists in his last three games. Weegar also finished with three helpers, highlighted by his career milestone. Captain Leading the Way: Backlund’s two-goal night proved pivotal. With four goals over his last two games, the Flames captain continues to deliver timely offence and set the tone for his team. THE FINAL WORD: Backlund on his hot hand: “Some good plays, just trying to go to the net and put the puck in. Obviously it feels good to score some goals and help the team win.” Lomberg on the goal and fight: “(Lauzon) hit Matty (Coronato) pretty good a couple of shifts before… it just kind of worked out that I scored before I got the chance to ask him (to fight).” Weegar on 200 assists milestone: “I think I got more compliments on the plus-2 than I got on the 200th assist tonight… (Backlund) gets the goal that I got the 200 on and I look up to Backs a lot so it’s a great moment for sure.”
