Nazem Kadri, Flames topple playoff-bound Kings
April 18 - Nazem Kadri scored twice as the visiting Calgary Flames topped the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 on Thursday in the last game of the NHL's regular season.
Mikael Backlund added a goal and an assist for Calgary (41-27-14, 96 points), which wrapped up its season on a four-game winning streak and improved to 7-1-3 in its last 11.
Sam Morton and Zayne Parekh, making their NHL debuts, also scored in the win. It was the first time in Flames history two players netted their initial goals in their debuts in the same game.
Dryden Hunt added two assists for the Flames, who were eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention on Tuesday.
Dan Vladar made 30 saves as Calgary completed the sweep of the three-game season series against Los Angeles.
Taylor Ward tallied in his first NHL game and David Rittich stopped 24 shots as Los Angeles saw its four-game winning streak end.
The Kings (48-25-9, 105 points), the second seed in the Pacific Division heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs, will have home-ice advantage against the division-rival Edmonton Oilers in the first round.
Calgary scored three times in a 2:19 span of the third period to open a 4-0 cushion.
Morton put the Flames up 2-0 at 6:05 of the third, burying a feed from Ryan Lomberg.
Kadri added his second of the night at 7:28, one-timing a Hunt delivery past Rittich for his team-leading and career-best 35th of the season.
Parekh tipped in a Backlund pass at 8:24.
Calgary took a 5-0 lead at 11:35, as Backlund snapped a shot glove-side past Rittich for his 15th of the season.
Ward got the Kings on the board on a power play at 13:49, putting home his own rebound.
Kadri opened the scoring 2:15 into the second period, snapping a shot glove-side past Rittich.
Aydar Suniev and Hunter Brzustewicz also played in their first NHL games for Calgary on Thursday.
It was the first NHL game since 2002 (and just the fifth in the expansion era) to feature three players scoring in their league debuts.
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