Flames’ Kuzmenko Has Big Night in 5-4 Win Over Wild

The Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames met for the second time this season on Saturday evening, Jan. 25, and both teams were on the first game of back-to-backs. It was the first meeting in Minnesota, and it was also Hockey Day Minnesota, which is exactly what it sounds like: a celebration of hockey in Minnesota with a number of high school and college games hosted in a local Minnesota city on an outdoor rink. 

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The Wild and Flames were inside to finish up the celebrations and the Wild were still without Jonas Brodin and Marcus Johansson. The Flames were without Anthony Mantha, Justin Kirkland, and Connor Zary. The goaltending matchup was between Marc-André Fleury for the Wild and Dustin Wolf for the Flames. 

The game started out in favor of the Flames, and it stayed that way throughout the night. Despite a last effort by the Wild to get within one, the Flames took the 5-4 win. This moved the Wild’s record to 28-17-4 and the Flames to 24-16-7. 

Game Recap

The Flames got on the board first with a power play goal by Andrei Kuzmenko to put his team up 1-0, Nazem Kadri and Mackenzie Weegar assisted him. The Wild answered back a few minutes later with a snipe by Joel Eriksson Ek, Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov assisted him to tie the game at one. There would be some close calls but the period would end tied. 

The second period had almost more fights than it did goals, but the Flames found the back of the net to retake their lead not once but twice. Martin Pospisil scored the first goal. Kuzmenko and Yegor Sharangovich assisted him to make it 2-1 just past the period’s midway point. Then, with just eight seconds left, Rasmus Andersson scored on the power play to make it 3-1, and Mikael Backlund and Pospisil assisted him. The period would end 3-1 with the Flames in the lead. 

The third period started in the same way as the first and second, with the Flames scoring first. Clark Bishop got the goal and was assisted by Ryan Lomberg to make it 4-1. However, the Wild responded on the power play with a goal by Frédérick Gaudreau to make it 4-2. Ryan Hartman and Marco Rossi assisted him. The Flames answered right back with a goal by Kuzmenko, his second of the night, just 14 seconds later to make it 5-2. Sharangovich and Weegar assisted him. 

The Wild got on the board late in the period with a goal by Marcus Foligno to make it 5-3; Rossi and Matt Boldy assisted him. It looked like the Flames would take the win at that point until Zuccarello deflected a shot by Jared Spurgeon to get back within one goal. It was too little, too late, however, as that would be the game’s final goal, and the Flames would take the 5-4 win.

The Wild will head on the road to face the Chicago Blackhawks on the second half of their back-to-back, Sunday evening, Jan. 26. The Flames will also remain on the road as they head north to face the Winnipeg Jets also on the second half of their own back-to-back on Sunday.