Flames hold off Islanders for 3rd victory in 4 games

CALGARY -- Adam Klapka had a goal and an assist, and the Calgary Flames held off the New York Islanders 4-2 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.

Yegor Sharangovich, Justin Kirkland and Yan Kuznetsov also scored for the Flames (21-23-4), who have won two games in a row and three of their past four. Kevin Bahl had two assists, and Dustin Wolf made 28 saves for his first win in his past six starts.

“We again played Flames hockey where we were opportunistic on our chances,” Wolf said. “We’re committed to blocking shots. There were several huge blocks throughout the game, especially in the third. That’s exactly how we play hockey and that’s how we win hockey games. It’s awesome to see that from my point of view.”

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders (26-17-5), who are 2-2-1 through five games of a seven-game road trip. Matthew Schaefer had two assists, and David Rittich made 15 saves.

“At the end of the day, it just wasn’t our best game,” Schaefer said. “I think we could hold on to the puck a little bit more. A little too many turnovers for our liking, but we’re about the next one (at the Vancouver Canucks on Monday). We’ll learn from this.”

Sharangovich put Calgary up 1-0 at 11:51 of the first period when he took a pass in the high slot from Rasmus Andersson and lifted a shot high to the glove side. Sharangovich scored for the second straight game and has a three-game point streak (two goals, three assists).

Klapka made it 2-0 at 3:04 of the second period when Bahl’s wrist shot from the right point deflected off his stick and his leg past Rittich.

“I thought Adam was good tonight,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “He's a player that we really believe in, and we think there's a lot there with him.”

Kirkland scored his first goal of the season at 9:50 to extend Calgary’s lead to 3-0. He skated down the right wing on a 2-on-1 and took a pass from Ryan Lomberg before roofing a shot past a sprawling Rittich.

“It was a long time coming,” said Kirkland, who had gone 22 games without a goal, last scoring Nov. 12, 2024, in a 3-1 loss at the Canucks. “Contributing offensively, it’s a good feeling and kind of a weight off the shoulders to get that first one.”

Kuznetsov made it 4-0 at 11:49 with a wrist shot from the left point to the top right corner. Connor Zary had the secondary assist to extend his point streak to a career-high five games (two goals, four assists).

“Zary’s been on a bit of a run lately,” said Huska, who also commended Nazem Kadri for helping set up the goal with the primary assist. “It’s nice to see [Zary] continue to get offensive production there, and ‘Naz’ has not. It’s nice to see ‘Naz’ get something on the scoreboard tonight, so it’s good when you get contributions from everybody.”

Pageau scored from the left circle just 32 seconds later, lifting a shot to the short side to make it 4-1 at 12:21.

New York coach Patrick Roy pulled Rittich for an extra attacker with 8:04 remaining in the third period. Lee then cut it to 4-2 at 17:04 with his 300th NHL goal and first in 10 games, squeezing a shot from below the left circle through Wolf’s pads.

“And [to] shoot from that angle and score, I mean, I’m sure that’s got to be a good confidence builder for him,” Roy said.

Prior to Lee’s goal, Wolf attempted to score into the empty net, but his shot from the edge of his own crease 176 feet away trickled a few feet wide of the net with 5:22 left.

“I just tried to get it off as quick as I could,” Wolf said. “I liked the angle I took at it, but just a bad hop. You don’t get too many opportunities where they pull their guy with eight minutes to go. I’ll try again next time.”

NOTES: Lee became the fifth player to score 300 goals with the Islanders, joining Mike Bossy (573), Bryan Trottier (500), Denis Potvin (310) and Clark Gillies (304). … Schaefer, 18, had his sixth career multipoint game. The only defensemen to have more before turning 19 years old are Phil Housley (13), Bobby Orr (eight) and Rasmus Dahlin (eight). … Andersson reached 20 assists for the fifth consecutive season, becoming the seventh defenseman in Flames history with a streak of at least that length. The others are Al MacInnis (11 from 1983-94), Gary Suter (eight from 1985-93), Mark Giordano (seven from 2013-20), TJ Brodie (six from 2013-19), Derek Morris (five from 1997-98 to 2001-02) and Randy Manery (five from 1972-77).