5 Things - Flames @ Kings

1. Last Time Out

You could see the emotion, the pride, and the sheer elation of it all cascading to the surface.

For the unflappable Dustin Wolf, this was a night 22 years in the making.

“Coming home is always super-enjoyable,” the rookie netminder said after posting a 20-save victory over his hometown team. “The goal of a trip is to get wins – and to get a win in front of my family is pretty special.”

While his mom and dad weren’t able to attend, a number of relatives – including his grandmother, who watched him play live for the first time – could be heard cheering (and, yes, howling) every time the young puck-stopper’s name was mentioned.

Wolf grew up only a stone’s throw from SAP Center in nearby Gilroy, Calif., with Sharks legend Evgeni Nabokov serving as the ultimate inspiration for the kid with a dream.

And while playing in this barn was not exactly new to the Flames’ goalie-of-the-future – visiting a number of times as a member of the Stockton Heat/Calgary Wranglers back when the Sharks’ AHL outfit called the Tank home – this was his first taste of it at the NHL level.

What’s more, the W came along with it.

“They’ve just been by my side from the very start, from my aunt and uncle my grandma, my parents who couldn’t be here tonight," Wolf said. "Coming from a small town, playing against your hometown team, it’s something you obviously dream of, pretty cool it came true.”

Wolf puncuated the night with a dazzling glove save off Justin Bailey, who one-timed a centring pass from Collin Graf at the lip of the blue paint, but was emphatically denied by the trapper.

Andrei Kuzmenko scored the OT winner after Rasmus Andersson and Nazem Kadri helped the Flames erase a 2-0 deficit, as Calgary kicked off a three-game road trip with a 3-2 win.

Kuzmenko’s winning snipe came on the powerplay, as the surging unit scored twice in the contest and is operating at a league-best 45.5% (10-for-22) since March 28.

“Second and third period were good periods," said Head Coach Ryan Huska. “We didn’t get the start we wanted, I just felt like it was too easy for them to come out of their zone, or even for us to get below the tops of their circles. After the second period, the guys did a much better job of that, and then it came down to a good special-team night for us, which was nice to see.”

2. Know Your Enemy

There are nights off in the ‘Freeway Faceoff.’

The Kings dropped a 3-1 decision to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, despite outshooting their California cousins 37-27.

Frank Vatrano, Alex Killorn and Trevor Zegras scored, and Ryan Strome had a pair of helpers for the Ducks, while Akil Thomas provided the offence for the visitors.

Thomas, who was recalled from the AHL's Ontario Reign last week, now has two goals in four games with the big club.

Cam Talbot made 24 saves for the Kings, who entered the night winners of three straight and would’ve punched their ticket to the postseason with a victory.

“We thought it might be easy," LA coach Jim Hiller told reporters afterward. "It is never easy in the National Hockey League.”

Former Flame Trevor Lewis picked up an assist in the contest, banging a loose puck at the side of the net, which then caromed in front to Thomas who chopped it home in a goalmouth scramble.

“We know they have a lot of skill and a lot of young talent, and they're playing pretty freely right now,” Lewis told NHL.com. “I thought we had a pretty good first 10 minutes, and then things kind of got away from us. We were starting to get in their game a little bit and turning pucks over. Second period we played pretty well but let them hang around, and they’ve got some skill and their goalie played really well.”

With only four games left in the regular season, the Kings are currently third in the Pacific – which would mean a first-round date with Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers for the third straight year.

Adrian Kempe leads LA in scoring with 71 points (27G, 44A), followed by Kevin Fiala with 70 (27G, 43) and the ageless Anze Kopitar with 68 (26G, 42A).

3. Fast Facts

Comeback Kids

On Tuesday, the Flames rallied from a 2-0 deficit to complete their seventh multi-goal comeback win, which is tied for the second-most in the NHL. Overall this season, the Flames have earned 17 comeback wins, with 10 third-period come-from-behind efforts. Only the New York Rangers (13), the Detroit Red Wings (12), and the Colorado Avalanche (11) have more third period rallies.

Did You Know?

In the first meeting between these two teams earlier this season, Blake Coleman became the first Flames player to score a shorthanded goal and powerplay goal in the same game since Noah Hanifin on Nov. 25, 2018 in Arizona.

4. Players To Watch

Flames - Andrei Kuzmenko

Stay hot, Kuzy. 

The 28-year-old is riding a six-game point streak after another two-point effort – including the OT winner – on Tuesday in San Jose. 

Kuzmenko has five multi-point outings in his last half-dozen games, for five goals and six apples in that span. 

Since being acquired by the Flames at the all-star break, the gifted winger has 19 points (10G, 9A) in 24 games, with 14 of those coming on the powerplay – which has roared to life and is positively scorching now, with goals in six straight.

Kings - Trevor Moore

The hometown boy is having an outstanding season for the Kings, reaching the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career (obliterating his previous high-water mark of 17), while recording a new career-best with 54 points.

The Thousand Oaks, Calif. product is an ‘analytics darling,’ too, putting up a 56.25% possession rate – second only to Phillip Danault – and is the top five in both scoring chance and high-danger splits for his team as well.

5. Quotable

Huska on the Flames’ red-hot powerplay:

“I feel like they’re starting to feel like they can have an impact and they can get the job done right now, where earlier in the year they went out there and I don’t think they had the real belief that they could make a difference in a game. But they have that right now. It’s nice to see, and we’d like to see them continue to go that way.”

Kadri on the impact the powerplay has had lately:

“We’re scoring goals, and they’re crucial goals in these hockey games. As a group, I think we take pride in trying to give our group a boost of energy, and when things aren’t going too well, we’re accountable with one another. I think that’s important, and when you’re playing with confidence, obviously it’s a lot smoother.”