Flames beat Minnesota 4-2 to prevent the Wild from clinching a playoff spot
Calgary Flames' Yegor Sharangovich (17) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jeff McIntosh]
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Nazem Kadri scored his 32nd goal of the season on a second-period power play and the Calgary Flames beat Minnesota 4-2 on Friday night to prevent the Wild from clinching a playoff spot Friday night.
Minnesota and St. Louis hold the two Western Conference wild-card spot, three points ahead of Calgary.
Mikael Backlund, Yegor Sharangovich and Ryan Lomberg also scored as Calgary built a 4-0 lead. Dustin Wolf made 16 saves, allowing only late goals to Yakov Trenin and Gustav Nyquist.
Filip Gustavsson stopped 25 shots for Minnesota before giving way to Marc-Andre Fleury after allowing Lomberg’s goal at 7:20 of the third.
Takeaways
Minnesota Wild's Jonas Brodin (25) checks Calgary Flames' Mikael Backlund (11) as he tries to deflect the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Wild: Minnesota has lost six straight on the road (0-4-2).
Flames: Calgary has points in five straight games (3-0-2).
Key moment
Calgary gave itself some rare breathing room early in the second period when Sharangovich and Kadri scored less than two minutes apart to open up a 3-0 lead.
Key stat
Calgary swept the season series with the Wild for the first time since 2016-17.
Up next
The Wild are at Vancouver on Saturday night, then will close the regular season at home Tuesday night against Anaheim. The Flames host San Jose on Sunday night.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.