Flames Beat Islanders in Battle of Also-Rans That Turned it Around

Last year, neither the Calgary Flames nor the New York Islanders made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. When the two teams played in Calgary on February 20th of this year, they were both in first place of their divisions (New York in the Metropolitan, Calgary in the Pacific) and the Flames had the best record in the entire Western Conference.

Calgary led 2-0 after the 1st period on goals by Mikael Backlund and Travis Hamonic; the Islanders got one back in the 2nd with a goal by Casey Cizikas. New York tied it 1:18 into the 3rd period on a goal by Anders Lee, but a goal by Austin Czarnik at 6:10, followed by a power play goal Johnny Gaudreau just 29 seconds later sealed the victory for the Flames. The Islanders were held to just 19 shots on goal.

The Islanders remained on top of the Metropolitan Division with 76 points, three more than Washington. The Flames continue to lead the West with 81 points. The two have one more game against each other; the Islanders will host the Flames on February 26th.