Flames Look To Build Momentum In Final Clash With Islanders
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The Calgary Flames will try to build rare momentum Saturday night when they close out their season series with the New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.
Calgary arrives on Long Island riding a surge of confidence after a high-scoring 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, a game that showcased the resilience the Flames have tried to rediscover during a difficult season. The victory came midway through an Eastern Conference road swing and offered a glimpse of the aggressive, competitive identity Calgary hopes to carry through the final stretch of the schedule.
Veteran center Mikael Backlund delivered a milestone moment in the win, scoring the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period while collecting the 600th point of his NHL career. For a Flames team that has spent much of the season battling adversity, the milestone was both a personal achievement and a symbolic spark.
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“We want to play the right way every game and come out and play Flames style,” Calgary center Mikael Backlund told reporters. “That’s competing hard playing the right way. That’s our main focus every night.”
Even with the victory, the Flames remain buried near the bottom of the standings. Calgary entered the weekend with 59 points, 31st in the NHL and ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks. A disastrous opening stretch — 11 losses in their first 13 games (2-9-2) — left the club chasing the pack for most of the year.
Now the math is daunting.
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Calgary sits 10 points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the final Western Conference wild-card position, leaving the Flames with little margin for error as the regular season winds down. Consecutive victories have also been hard to come by — the Flames have managed back-to-back wins just twice since Jan. 1, posting an 8-14-3 record during that span.
Saturday offers an opportunity to change that narrative.
The Islanders, meanwhile, enter the matchup trying to shake off a frustrating loss and stabilize their own playoff…
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