Golden Knights defeat Flames, two points back of West wild card spot

CALGARY --Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson each had a goal and two assists, helping the Vegas Golden Knights defeat the Calgary Flames 6-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

Nicolas Roy and Evgenii Dadonov each had a goal and an assist, and Logan Thompson made 35 saves for the Golden Knights (41-29-5), who moved one point back of the Los Angeles Kings for third in the Pacific Division and two points back of the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators, who are tied for the wild cards in the Western Conference.
"We're a veteran group," Marchessault said. "We know the importance of points at this time of the year, and we've worked hard the past month and a half to come back into a situation [where] we can control our destiny. And that's what we're going to do for the rest of the year."
Dillon Dube scored for the Flames (45-20-9), who had won five in a row. Calgary is first in the Pacific Division, seven points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers.
"[The Golden Knights are a] very desperate team, fighting for their lives," forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "With the season they've had, we know that they're a way better team than what the standings show, and ultimately if you want to go far this year, it's going to have to go through them.
"It's unfortunate that we kind of we dropped the ball against them tonight. Hopefully we get another crack at them."

Jacob Markstrom allowed four goals on 17 shots before being replaced midway through the second period by Dan Vladar, who made six saves on eight shots. It is the third time Markstrom has been relieved this season and the second time in as many games. He was removed after allowing three goals on 15 shots in a 5-3 win against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
"I don't like doing that. I've said that always," coach Darryl Sutter said. "I'm not a guy who pulls goalies, but I think tonight was different. The other night was trying to get some momentum out of our team because it was after the second period. Tonight, I thought the players really let him down. I didn't want to leave him in there."
Dube put the Flames up 1-0 at 10:17 with a power-play goal after taking a centering feed into the slot from Tyler Toffoli.
Jack Eichel tied it 1-1 at 13:09 when he finished a three-way passing play with Marchessault and Mattias Janmark by one-timing a shot past Markstrom's blocker.
Dadonov made it 2-1 at 4:46 of the second period, elevating a rebound just as Flames forward Milan Lucic's minor penalty for holding expired.
"Unbelievable. Best game of the season. We were good everywhere," Marchessault said. " Obviously, they had a good goal there at the beginning, but good teams find a way to win a game. Really proud of our team tonight."

Michael Amadio extended the lead to 3-1 at 8:24, and Marchessault made it 4-1 at 9:04 when he redirected Janmark's centering pass.
"Urgency. Energy. Emotion. Those things," Sutter said. "One team was way more focused and urgent."
Roy gave the Golden Knights a 5-1 lead at 17:36, tipping in Shea Theodore's point shot by Vladar for a power-play goal, and Karlsson scored at 18:19 of the third period for the 6-1 final.
"We came and we did what we needed to do," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. "We're obviously a more desperate team than they are as far as the standings go. I thought we came in, the first five minutes we were feeling it out, but the first goal was big for us to tie it up. I really liked our game. We had to win that game. They're in a position where they don't have to win this time of year."
NOTES: Thompson, who was making his first start since April 1, is 5-0-0 with a 1.59 goals-against average and .949 save percentage in his past five starts. ... Karlsson's goal gave him 300 points (125 goals, 175 assists) in 526 NHL games. He has scored nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past eight games. ...Calgary has scored first in an NHL-leading 48 games. ... Vegas is 31-2-0 when leading after two periods. … Eichel has scored seven points (five goals, two assists) during a six-game point streak. … Marchessault has scored 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in his past nine games. … Flames defenseman Erik Gudbranson was minus-4 and had one shot on goal in 17:03 of ice time after missing three games with an undisclosed injury. … Calgary defenseman Oliver Kylington had two shots on goal and one blocked shot in 18:17 of ice time after missing six games with an upper-body injury.