Calgary Flames vs. Los Angeles Kings Pick & Prediction APRIL 17th 2025
Preview and Prediction
The Los Angeles Kings aim to establish a new franchise record for victories and prolong their winning streak to five games as they conclude the regular season by hosting the Calgary Flames on Thursday evening.
The Kings (48-24-9, 105 points) hold the second spot in the Pacific Division heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs and will have the home-ice advantage against their division rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, in the first round.
Los Angeles concluded a brief two-game road trip with a 6-5 triumph over the Kraken in Seattle on Tuesday night, matching the franchise record for wins in a season (48) set during the 2015-16 campaign.
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"I am pleased with the victory," stated Kings coach Jim Hiller. "This was a challenging back-to-back. We had some key players absent from the lineup, and it did not affect our standings, but we still managed to secure the win. That is what I appreciate about this victory."
Samuel Helenius netted two goals, and Adrian Kempe contributed a goal and an assist as the Kings improved their record to 8-2-0 over their last 10 games. Alex Laferriere, Alex Turcotte, and Warren Foegele also scored, while Kevin Fiala and Vladislav Gavrikov each recorded two assists in the victory.
David Rittich made 29 saves to improve his record to 16-13-2 with an .889 save percentage and 2.77 goals-against average in 33 games this season.
In 50 games, starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper boasts a 31-11-7 record with a .922 save percentage and a 2.02 GAA.
Kempe leads the Kings with 73 points in 81 games and shares the team's top goal-scoring spot (35) with Fiala.
The Flames head to Los Angeles with the goal of completing a sweep of the season series against the Kings. Calgary has emerged victorious in both meetings between the two teams this season - 3-1 on November 11th and 2-1 on January 11th.
Despite being eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, Calgary (40-27-14, 94 points) has won three consecutive games and boasts a 6-1-3 record in their last 10 games.
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On Tuesday, the Flames concluded a three-game home stand with a 5-4 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Morgan Frost scored twice, including the shootout winner, and Nazem Kadri added a goal and an assist for the Flames, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention despite the victory.
Mikael Backlund and Adam Klapka also scored, while Matt Coronato contributed two assists.
"At the beginning of the year, no one believed in us," said Backlund. "But we believed in ourselves from Day 1, starting in training camp. Right away, we got the sense that everyone was buying in and believing. When everyone buys in and believes, you can achieve great things.
"Unfortunately, we did not make it to the playoffs, but we fought until the very end. We were so resilient all year, and that speaks volumes about this group. We played for each other all year long."
Dustin Wolf made 38 saves to improve his record to 29-16-8 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.64 GAA in 53 starts this season.
With the two assists, Coronato has recorded seven points (four goals, three assists) during a six-game point streak. Kadri's team-leading 33 goals are a career high for the Flames forward.
Calgary Flames vs. Los Angeles Kings Recap APR 17TH 2025
Nazem Kadri scored twice as the visiting Calgary Flames topped the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 on Thursday in the last game of the NHL's regular season.
Mikael Backlund added a goal and an assist for Calgary (41-27-14, 96 points), which wrapped up its season on a four-game winning streak and improved to 7-1-3 in its last 11.
Sam Morton and Zayne Parekh, making their NHL debuts, also scored in the win. It was the first time in Flames history two players netted their initial goals in their debuts in the same game.
Dryden Hunt added two assists for the Flames, who were eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention on Tuesday.
Dan Vladar made 30 saves as Calgary completed the sweep of the three-game season series against Los Angeles.
Taylor Ward tallied in his first NHL game and David Rittich stopped 24 shots as Los Angeles saw its four-game winning streak end.
The Kings (48-25-9, 105 points), the second seed in the Pacific Division heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs, will have home-ice advantage against the division-rival Edmonton Oilers in the first round.
Calgary scored three times in a 2:19 span of the third period to open a 4-0 cushion.
Morton put the Flames up 2-0 at 6:05 of the third, burying a feed from Ryan Lomberg.
Kadri added his second of the night at 7:28, one-timing a Hunt delivery past Rittich for his team-leading and career-best 35th of the season.
Parekh tipped in a Backlund pass at 8:24.
Calgary took a 5-0 lead at 11:35, as Backlund snapped a shot glove-side past Rittich for his 15th of the season.
Ward got the Kings on the board on a power play at 13:49, putting home his own rebound.
Kadri opened the scoring 2:15 into the second period, snapping a shot glove-side past Rittich.
Aydar Suniev and Hunter Brzustewicz also played in their first NHL games for Calgary on Thursday.
It was the first NHL game since 2002 (and just the fifth in the expansion era) to feature three players scoring in their league debuts.