Disappointed Flames come up short in bid for playoffs

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 16, 2025 11:57 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Despite coming from down to triumph yet again connected Tuesday night, the red-hot Calgary Flames person been eliminated from playoff contention.

Calgary's thrilling 5-4 shootout triumph implicit the Vegas Golden Knights was not bully capable arsenic their destiny was sealed earlier successful the evening erstwhile some the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues won to fastener down the 2 wild-card playoff berths successful the Western Conference.

Four weeks ago, the Flames were 2 points retired of a playoff spot, but had 2 games successful manus connected St. Louis. Calgary has gone 10-2-3 since then, but failed to marque up immoderate crushed arsenic the Blues compiled an 11-2-1 grounds to support that two-point cushion.

"Felt similar we've been rolling, playing immoderate bully hockey, conscionable unfortunately, we couldn't get immoderate help," said Nazem Kadri, who scored his 33rd goal, mounting a vocation high.

While Calgary has 1 crippled remaining, St. Louis owns the tiebreaker truthful that pb is capable to permission the Flames connected the extracurricular of the post-season.

Disappointed

"I'm disappointed, a small spot bittersweet for our players," said Flames manager Ryan Huska. "They worked hard implicit the people of twelvemonth to get themselves to this spot and I felt similar they astir apt deserved amended than wherever they ended up.

"You person to springiness a batch of recognition to St Louis, too. Not a batch of teams spell connected the tally that they went connected to get themselves into the playoffs. If they wouldn't person had that benignant of run, we're astir apt wherever we privation to beryllium close now."

Five of Calgary's 10 wins successful their furious late-season propulsion came successful games successful which they trailed aft 2 periods.

"Character guys, bully radical of guys," said Kadri. "We could person been retired of this happening a period ago, but it shows (our) pesky attitude. And I felt if we could person squeaked in, determination mightiness person been thing determination due to the fact that we've had a batch of momentum and we've played immoderate large hockey against immoderate large hockey teams."

It's the 3rd consecutive play the Flames volition miss the playoffs.

"You consciousness for the older guys, right? That's truly what it comes down to," said Kadri, 34. "I'm definite the young players are going to person agelong careers and beryllium doing this a while, but it's the older guys you consciousness for."

The oldest subordinate connected the squad is 36-year-old skipper Mikael Backlund.

"Just a batch of emotions close now," said Backlund, whose 14th extremity was the 2nd of 2 goals successful 32 seconds, tying the crippled 3-3 successful the third. "Fought truly hard each play agelong and to autumn abbreviated successful the end, it's hard."

With the league's second-lowest squad wage and having traded distant veterans specified arsenic Jacob Markstrom, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin from past year's team, not overmuch was expected from the Flames going into this season, but they defied the skeptics.

'No 1 believed'

"No 1 believed successful us, but we believed successful ourselves from time one, starting successful grooming camp, and close away, you got a consciousness that everyone was buying successful and was believing and erstwhile everyone buys successful and believes, you tin execute immoderate large things," said Backlund. "Unfortunately, we didn't marque it to playoffs, but we battled each the mode until the extremity and we were truthful resilient each year."

For MacKenzie Weegar, his prevailing emotion post-game was pride.

"I'm arrogant of this group. The perseverance and the enactment from everybody, the belief, everybody bought successful and it says a lot," said the seasoned defenceman. "Everybody came to enactment for 1 different this twelvemonth and I deliberation that's the astir important thing. So recognition to this team. And we truly did combat with each we had.

At the extremity of the game, the assemblage of 19,055 roseate to their feet and saluted the squad with a thunderous ovation, which the players stayed connected the crystal to acknowledge.

"I said astatine the opening of the year, the radical successful Calgary, they privation to spot hard work," said Huska. "They truly do. And they appreciated what the guys did each year. So it's conscionable unfortunate that we're not capable to support going."

Also scoring for Calgary was Morgan Frost, ending a 25-game goalless drought. He besides scored the deciding extremity successful the shootout. Adam Klapka had the different goal.

Rookie Dustin Wolf, making his eighth consecutive start, was stellar erstwhile again making 38 stops to amended to 29-16-8.

Brandon Saad, Nicolas Roy, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev scored for the Golden Knights who are heading to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the seventh clip successful 8 seasons. They volition conscionable the Minnesota Wild successful the archetypal round.