The Calgary Flames went into their final game of the season with their sights set on the future. The sting of missing out on the playoffs was still there, but with the Winnipeg Jets continuing to win anyway, the severity of the pain quickly lessened. Instead, the Flames turned towards their youngest players and gave them their first taste of the NHL.
Matt Coronato finally made his NHL debut after signing his entry-level contract with the Flames weeks ago, and Dustin Wolf was recalled from the AHL to make his first start.
The Flames ceded the first goal midway through the first period, but Wolf showed no signs of panic as he was more than steady the rest of the way. Calgary answered back with a goal from Nikita Zadorov midway through the second to tie it up, and in the third Zadorov scored again for the Flames’ first lead.
The Sharks pulled their goalie and it’d be Zadorov who managed to dump the puck into the vacant net for his first career hat trick and the Flames’ first and only hat trick of the year.
Wolf was absolutely solid in net, and Coronato showed many flashes of his tenacity and NHL-ready shot.
The season was disappointing by many metrics, but at least the Flames went out on a high note. Charts are below!
Game events
Goals
| Goal | Assists | Time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noah Gregor | Radim Simek | 10:26 | 1st | SJS 1 – 0 CGY |
| Nikita Zadorov | Andrew Mangiapane, Mikael Backlund | 13:36 | 2nd | SJS 1 – 1 CGY |
| Nikita Zadorov | MacKenzie Weegar, Nazem Kadri | 04:01 | 3rd | SJS 1 – 2 CGY |
| Nikita Zadorov | Unassisted | 19:00 | 3rd | SJS 1 – 3 CGY |
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