Tyler Toffoli and the Calgary Flames rebounded from a disappointing loss and secured two important points in the Pacific Division before the All-Star break.
Toffoli, Elias Lindholm, and Blake Coleman each tallied a goal and two assists, leading the Flames to a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Friday night.
Calgary bounced back impressively after a surprising 5-1 home loss to Chicago the previous night. The Flames have now beaten the Kraken twice in Seattle, winning two of three in the season series, and headed into their break on a high note.
“We talked about it the past two games,” Toffoli said. “Obviously, we let the Chicago game slip, but overall, tonight was obviously a really important match, and we did a really good job.”
Lindholm scored his 15th goal at 7:16 of the first period, deflecting a pass from Toffoli to pull Calgary even after Seattle took an early lead.
Toffoli’s 18th goal at 13:28 gave Calgary a 2-1 lead, and Nikita Zadorov added another with 4.5 seconds left in the first period, putting the Flames ahead 3-1.
Noah Hanifin scored his fourth goal of the season with 8:20 remaining in the third period after Seattle had closed the gap to 3-2, and Coleman sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1:20 left.
Dan Vladar made 29 saves and won his fifth straight start. Calgary is 10-0-3 in Vladar’s last 13 appearances, tying a club record for the longest point streak by a goaltender, joining Mike Vernon (1988-89) and Brian Elliott (2016-17).
Recent AHL call-up John Hayden gave Seattle a 1-0 lead by redirecting Will Borgen’s shot from the point early in the first period. However, the Kraken seemed a step slow all night and failed to capitalize on numerous power-play opportunities, going a season-worst 0 for 6.
“I feel comfortable in those situations because I know I will get some action. I didn’t get much in the first 40 minutes, so I was looking forward to it,” Vladar said of Seattle’s power plays.
Seattle appeared to pull within 3-2 with 11:01 left on Alex Wennberg’s power-play goal, but Calgary challenged for goaltender interference, and the goal was overturned. The Kraken eventually got that goal when Eeli Tolvanen scored on a rebound with 9:24 remaining, but Hanifin responded 64 seconds later.
Martin Jones made 33 saves, but the Kraken lost for the second time in three games and missed an opportunity to move into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.
Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said, “We weren’t very good.”
“Our group wasn’t good, especially the middle portion of the game, and we had no energy,” Hakstol said. “And that’s top to bottom. That’s all of us.”
Seattle is also seeing injuries impact its lineup. Hayden was in the lineup because rookie All-Star center Matty Beniers was out after taking a big hit from Vancouver’s Tyler Myers in Wednesday’s win over the Canucks. Beniers’ injury wasn’t specified, but he was already ruled out for Saturday’s game against Columbus, and his status for the All-Star game is uncertain.
INJURY UPDATES
Calgary placed D Chris Tanev on injured reserve Friday and activated F Brett Ritchie from IR. Tanev was injured last Monday against Columbus and was scratched in Thursday’s loss to Chicago. In Tanev’s absence, MacKenzie Weegar paired with Nikita Zadorov against the Blackhawks and again against Seattle. Ritchie was scratched. Seattle placed D Justin Schultz on IR and recalled F Max McCormick from Coachella Valley of the AHL. Schultz had missed three games before being placed on IR.
UP NEXT
- Flames: Calgary is off until Feb. 6, when it plays at the New York Rangers.
- Kraken: Host Columbus on Saturday.
