Flames Drop Decision To Islanders

ELMONT, N.Y. — Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman scored third-period goals, and Dustin Wolf pitched nearly 40 minutes of shutout hockey, but the Flames fell 3-2 to the Islanders Saturday at UBS Arena.

Simon Holmstrom's short-handed goal stood up as the winner, the New York forward capitalizing twice on the evening, while former Flame David Rittich turned aside 30 shots in goal for the homeside.

The Flames got the first Grade ‘A’ chance of the game when Yegor Sharangovich was sprung free on a breakaway just shy of the seven-minute mark, but his snapshot from the slot was snagged by Rittich.

The Islanders opened the scoring just over three minutes later, Cizikas and linemate Ondrej Palat both crashed the net, Cizikas getting the last touch to the disc before it squirted over the goal-line.

Holmstrom scored the first of his two tallies at 16:35, capping off an odd-man rush. His second came on a short-handed breakaway with 25 seconds to play in the period.

 Wolf relieved starter Devin Cooley to start the second period. His best save came with just under three minutes left in the middle stanza, when he slid into the splits to his right to rob rookie Matthew Schaefer of a wide-open rebound opportunity.

He made a carbon-copy stop off Calum Ritchie in the third, shortly after robbing Islanders scoring leader Mat Barzal with his pad on an effort from the left circle.

Backlund got his stick on an Olli Määttä one-timer 2:17 into the frame, deflecting his 15th goal of the season past Rittich to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Coleman added his team-leading 16th six minutes later, driving wide down the right wing before cutting to the net for a chip shot that sailed in over Rittich's right shoulder.

Wolf made 17 saves over his two periods of relief work.

Zach Whitecloud returned to the Calgary lineup after missing the first three games of the road trip with an upper-body injury.

Määttä's assist was his 200th career NHL point, and his fourth in five games since being acquired by the Flames.

The Lineup:

FORWARDS

Blake Coleman - Mikael Backlund- Joel Farabee

Matvei Gridin - Morgan Frost - Matt Coronato

Yegor Sharangovich - Ryan Strome - Victor Olofsson

Connor Zary - John Beecher - Adam Klapka

DEFENCE

Kevin Bahl - Olli Määttä

Yan Kuznetsov - Zach Whitecloud

Joel Hanley - Zayne Parekh

GOALTENDERS

Devin Cooley - starter

Dustin Wolf

They Said It:

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 32, NYI 27

Powerplay: CGY 0-2, NYI 0-1

Faceoffs: CGY 42.2%, NYI 57.8%

Hits: CGY 9, NYI 22

Blocked Shots: CGY 10, NYI 18

5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 27, NYI 23

5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 7, NYI 7

Up Next:

The five-game trip wraps up Monday evening in the Motor City as the Flames pay a visit to the Red Wings at 5 p.m. MT. Calgary will open a six-game homestand Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. MT at the Scotiabank Saddledome versus the St. Louis Blues. GET TICKETS