Flames defeat Jets, tie them for 2nd wild card from West

WINNIPEG -- The Calgary Flames tied the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, defeating them 3-1 at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday.

"It's playoff hockey out there and we're trying to make the playoffs," said Flames forward Walker Duehr, who scored the game-winner at 4:08 of the third period. "It was a big game here tonight, and to get that goal it was really important."

Calgary and Winnipeg are three points ahead of the Nashville Predators and five behind the Seattle Kraken for the first wild card. The Jets have four games remaining; the Flames have three.
Andrew Mangiapane and Nikita Zadorov each had a goal and an assist, and Jacob Markstrom made 34 saves for Calgary (37-27-15), which has won five of six.
The Flames were coming off a 4-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
"Still [mad] from the other night, and I think that fed into it coming into this game and a little bit more emotions than usual," said Markstrom, who started the back-to-back games. "It was a great atmosphere and a big win, but we've got to keep going here."
Duehr said, "You could say [Markstrom] won us the game, for sure. He was amazing tonight. He was huge. He bailed us out a handful of times."
Kyle Connor scored for a third straight game, and Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for Winnipeg (43-32-3), which was 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
"We would have preferred to play more 5-on-5," Jets coach Rick Bowness said. "You take six penalties in a game like that, you're shooting yourself in the foot. There's no question about that. So, that's what's disappointing."

Connor's power-play goal gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead at 11:42 of the first period. He scored with a one-timer from the right face-off dot.
"A loss is as loss, but like I said, we could be in a worse position," Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois said. "We could be on the outside looking in. We could be the team that played one more game right now and is still tied. … We are obviously disappointed. Like, I'm not going to stand here and say that we are happy and thrilled, but we're still in a good spot being on the inside. We just have to look forward to the next games here."
Zadorov had a goal overturned at 4:38 of the second period when Bowness challenged for goaltender interference. Video review determined Calgary forward Nick Ritchie impaired Hellebuyck's ability to play his position in the crease prior to the goal.
"[The intensity] was up there," Jets defenseman Nate Schmidt said. "I think there was a lot of stuff going on in the game. A lot of extracurriculars. Guys were fired up about the game. I think both sides were showing it. … It seemed like every time we'd get a big PK, then we'd go on the power play and then vice versa. Not a ton of flow to the game."
Mangiapane tied it 1-1 at 6:06 off a pass from Mikael Backlund on a 2-on-1.
"We're really close to these guys in the standings and we just tied it up there," Mangiapane said. "We've been playing playoff hockey the past 30, 40 games now. We knew what kind of spot we'd be in here, so we're pushing. We've got three games to make it."

After Duehr put the Flames ahead on a wraparound at the right post, Zadorov scored from the top of the left circle at 10:40 for the 3-1 final.
"We're not in it -- yet," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "If we didn't win tonight or if you lose in overtime or a shootout, that's a big swing too, so all we did was close the gap."
NOTES: Backlund (assist) set an NHL career high with 54 points (18 goals, 36 assists). He had 53 (22 goals, 31 assists) in 2016-17. … Dubois (assist) got his 300th NHL point (128 goals, 172 assists in 431 games), tied his NHL career high with 61 points and set an NHL career high with 35 assists. He had 61 points and 34 assists in 2018-19 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. … Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers (assist) has five points (three goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak.