Both the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks will miss the playoffs this year.
On Thursday night the Flames were able to get some fun against their old time rivals laying down a 7-3 beatdown.
Mikael Backlund scored his first career NHL hat trick leading the flames offensively, and Joni Ortio chipped in with 24 saves.
Flames also received goals from Dougie Hamilton, Joe Colborne, Deryk Engelland, and Sam Bennett.
For the Canucks, losers of two straight got goals from Nikita Tryamkin, Bo Horvat, and Emerson Etem.
Tryamkin’s first period goal was also his first career NHL goal.
Backlund opened the scoring on the power play 2:47 into the game. Flames defenseman Jakub Nakladal made a backdoor pass through the slot to Backlund, who bobbled the puck before getting it past Miller.
Tryamkin tied it 1-1 with his first NHL goal at 6:23. His wrist shot from the point deflected off the stick of Flames forward Hunter Shinkaruk in the slot and skipped between Ortio’s legs.
Horvat put Vancouver up 2-1 on the power play at 17:36 with his fourth goal in five games.
The lead was short lived as Hamilton tied it 32 seconds later, shooting through a screen and over Miller’s shoulder on the short side for 12th.
“I think it’s been a problem this year; we have a few good games, and then we have a few bad games,” Vancouver forward Daniel Sedin said. “I think our last 10-12 games we talked about being consistent each and every night, and I think we have been up until these last two games. This hasn’t been good enough. It’s up to me and [Henrik Sedin] and the top players to be better.”
Backlund broke a 2-2 tie 1:18 into the second period. He mishandled Matt Stajan’s initial cross-crease pass off the rush but corralled the puck in time to bank a shot from below the goal line off Miller and into the net.
Etem tied it 3-3 with his third goal in four games at 6:54 for his 6th on the year.
Calgary would come right back as Colborne, on the power play, restored Calgary’s one-goal lead by tipping Hamilton’s point shot by Miller at 11:54 of the second period.
Backlund completed his hat trick with 51.2 seconds remaining in the second. On a shorthanded 2-on-1, Stajan passed to Backlund, who shot his NHL career-high 21st goal by Miller’s glove to put Calgary up 5-3.
“I didn’t score in the playoffs against [the Canucks] at all,” Backlund said. “I guess this year it’s been that way. I always like these rival games — Edmonton and Vancouver. The last couple years, it’s been a little more against Vancouver.”
Stajan got his third assist on Engelland’s goal at 15:08 of the third to extend Calgary’s lead to 6-3. On another 2-on-1, Stajan passed to Engelland, who shot over a sprawling Miller.
Capping it off, Bennett scored 1:15 after Engelland, sliding a shot between Miller’s legs to put Calgary up 7-3.
Ryan Miller made 36 saves in the loss.
Up next: The Canucks play their season finale Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena.
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