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Backlund leads Calgary Flames to 5-1 home win over Colorado Avalanche

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CALGARY — Mikael Backlund had a goal and two assists to lead the Calgary Flames to a 5-1 home win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday afternoon.

Troy Brouwer added a goal and an assist for the Flames (32-22-9), who moved past the idle St. Louis Blues into the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

Michael Frolik, Mark Giordano and Sean Monahan also scored for Calgary while Matthew Tkachuk added two assists. Rookie Jon Gillies made 28 saves for his second straight win.

Nathan MacKinnon had the lone goal for Colorado (32-24-5), which finished its three-game road trip with a 1-1-1 record. Semyon Varlamov stopped 24 shots in his fourth straight start.

Calgary took an early lead 18 seconds into the game when Frolik took a pass from Backlund in the slot and fired a shot past Varlamov.

Just past the five-minute mark of the first period Gillies stopped a shot by MacKinnon then slid across his net to get his left pad on Tyson Barrie's rebound attempt.

Giordano put Calgary ahead 2-0 at 7:24 when took a Backlund pass and fired a one-timer past Varlamov.

The Avalanche pulled to within one thanks to a flukey goal by MacKinnon with 3:36 remaining in the first. MacKinnon dumped the puck in from centre and it bounced off the post then Gillies before trickling in.

In the second, Gillies made a nice glove save off J.T. Compher during a Colorado power play.

Monahan then deflected a Michael Stone point shot past Varlamov on the power play at 10:50. Calgary has scored at least one power-play goal in six straight games and in eight of its last nine.

Troy Brouwer snapped a shot to the blocker side past Varlamov for his fourth goal of the season at 2:39 of the third. Backlund scored Calgary’s second power-play goal of the game at 14:46 to round out the scoring.

NOTES: The Flames ended a stretch of eight straight games where they allowed the first goal. … Before the game, Calgary placed goaltender Mike Smith on injured reserve. Smith has missed the last six contests with a lower-body injury. … The Flames also recalled forwards Tanner Glass and Andrew Mangiapane from the AHL's Stockton Heat while sending forward Ryan Lomberg back to the Heat.

Laurence Heinen, The Canadian Press


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