Kadri has goal, assist, Flames hold off Kings to end 5-game skid

CALGARY -- Nazem Kadri had a goal and an assist, and the Calgary Flames ended a five-game skid with a 4-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.

Blake Coleman and MacKenzie Weegar scored, and Andrei Kuzmenko and Yegor Sharangovich each had two assists for the Flames (34-34-5), who had lost eight of their past 10. Jacob Markstrom made 16 saves.

"We all know what situation we're in," defenseman Rasmus Andersson said of Calgary, which is 14 points behind Los Angeles for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with nine games remaining. "It's going to take a miracle to get into the playoffs, but we still show up on a night like tonight and we block shots, we hit, we play a physical game, we're all over a really good team for 60 minutes. It was one of those nights when you look around and you're proud to be on this team."

Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, and Anze Kopitar scored for the Kings (38-24-11), who have lost back-to-back games after a four-game winning streak. David Rittich made 31 saves.

"They were quicker, faster, stronger," Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said. "When you're a step behind like we were, the question for me is why were we a step behind. ... Just not good enough. Not good enough."

The Kings remained five points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the playoffs from the West. Los Angeles also fell three points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division after Vegas defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1 in overtime on Saturday.

"That's the story of an 82-game season, really," Kopitar said. "You can't get too high and you can't get too low. Now we've got nine (games) left. We've obviously got to bring it and make sure we get into the playoffs and then we'll go from there."

Kadri gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 4:45 of the first period with a power-play goal on a one-timer from the slot by Rittich's left pad. Kuzmenko set him up from beside the net eight seconds into the power play.

Kempe tied it 1-1 at 5:42 on the power play when he one-timed a pass from Drew Doughty by Markstrom's blocker from just inside the top of the left face-off circle. His goal also came eight seconds into the man-advantage.

Martin Pospisil put the Flames back ahead 2-1 at 11:56. He tapped in a cross-crease pass from Kuzmenko after a Kings' failed clear and Kadri's stickhandling effort kept the play alive inside the Los Angeles blue line.

“Honestly, probably one of our best games of the season, start to finish," Kadri said. "That was a game we dominated from the beginning to the end. That’s what we need more of.”

Coleman scored on the power play to extend it to 3-1 at 11:58 of the second period on a rebound of Andersson's initial wrist shot from the high slot.

"We've got to go back and watch video on [the penalty kill] tomorrow," Kempe said. "We've got to go back tomorrow and watch video and see what we can do better. It's been a good momentum-killer for us all year."

Kopitar’s power-play goal cut it to 3-2 at 18:25 when he caught a cross-ice pass from Kempe and shot by Markstrom's blocker.

"We didn't have the start we wanted, obviously," Kopitar said. "The response was good, giving up the early goal and getting one back right away, so that was good. The game wasn't as sharp as it needed to be."

Weegar pushed it to 4-2 at 11:30 of the third period on the power play when he one-timed a Jonathan Huberdeau pass between Rittich's legs.

"It wasn't an easy victory tonight," Weegar said. "It was a battle. But I thought a lot of guys, mostly everybody, sacrificed the body either to make a hit, block a shot, take a hit. I think for the young guys that's big. You've got to get dirty and sore sometimes to gut out some victories like this."

NOTES: The Flames scored three power-play goals in a single game for the first time this season, and the Kings gave up three power-play goals in a single game for the first time this season. Kopitar became the third player in Kings history with at least 10 25-goal seasons, joining Marcel Dionne and Luc Robitaille (both with 11). ... Kings forward Phillip Danault did not play because of an upper-body injury and is day-to-day.