Golden Knights report: Struggles continue at Calgary
Golden Knights vs. Flames
RJ’s three stars
3. Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk — Had a three-point night that included his 21st goal, a between-the-legs effort in the third period that was all over the internet. It was his ninth goal in 11 games against the Knights.
2. Flames center Mikael Backlund — His wrist shot from the top of the left circle put Calgary ahead 2-0 in the first period, and he also had three assists for his first career four-point game.
1. Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom — Finished with 28 saves to record his NHL-leading eighth shutout. Markstrom tormented Nolan Patrick in the second period and shut the door in the third.
Key play
Markstrom’s back-to-back saves on Patrick.
The Knights tried to make a push early in the second period and might have found some energy had Patrick been able to convert on two chances to make it a two-goal game.
Instead, he couldn’t redirect a shot over Markstrom with the top of the net available. Less than 10 seconds later, Patrick found himself with the puck between the hashmarks, but his wrist shot was stopped to keep the Flames ahead 3-0.
Andrew Mangiapane scored the first of his two goals a minute later to extend Calgary’s lead and take the wind out of the Knights’ sails.
Key stat
29 — Number of goals allowed by the Golden Knights in their past five visits to Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. They are 1-4 in that span and gave up six or more goals to the Flames in each of those losses.
Mr. 3,000
Flames winger Milan Lucic banged into defenseman Ben Hutton during the first period to record the 3,000th hit of his career.
Lucic, playing in his 15th season, is the fifth player to reach that milestone since the NHL started tracking hits in the 2005-06 season.
Los Angeles’ Dustin Brown is the all-time leader in hits with 3,614.
No sibling rivalry
The Knights played without captain Mark Stone, who was scratched because of an upper-body injury, according to the team.
Calgary defenseman Michael Stone also was a scratch, meaning the brothers were unable to face off against each other.
Knights winger Reilly Smith also missed out on a chance to play against his brother Brendan last month when the Knights played at Carolina.
Knights’ next 10
Vs. Colorado, 7 p.m. Wednesday
Vs. Los Angeles, 7 p.m. Feb. 18
At San Jose, 5 p.m. Feb. 20
At Arizona, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 25
Vs. Colorado, 7 p.m. Feb. 26
Vs. San Jose, 7 p.m. March 1
Vs. Boston, 6 p.m. March 3
At Anaheim, 7 p.m. March 4
Vs. Ottawa, 5 p.m. March 6
At Philadelphia, 4 p.m. March 8
