Flames 7, Canucks 3
CALGARY, Alberta -- Mikael Backlund recorded his first career hat trick to lead the Calgary Flames to a convincing 7-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.
Backlund scored once on the power play and then added an even-strength goal and a short-handed marker to give him a career-high 21 goals this season.
Joe Colborne scored once and set up two others for the Flames (34-40-7), who wrap up the season against the Minnesota Wild on the road Saturday.
Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist, Deryk Engelland and Sam Bennett also scored, while Matt Stajan chipped in with three helpers.
Making his fourth straight start for the Flames, goalie Joni Ortio made 24 saves to improve his record to 7-9-5.
Bo Horvat led the Canucks (30-38-13) with a goal and an assist, while Emerson Etem and Nikita Tryamkin, with his first NHL goal, also scored. Goalie Ryan Miller stopped 35 of 42 shots he face in the Vancouver net.
The Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night in their regular season finale.
Engelland scored his second goal in as many games at 16:23 of the third period before Bennett counted his 18th goal of his rookie season 15 seconds later to round out the scoring.
Backlund completed his hat trick with his third short-handed goal of the season at 19:08 of the second period to put the Flames up 5-3.
He also opened the scoring in the middle frame, banking a shot off Miller's back and into the Vancouver goal at 1:18 of the second period before Etem tipped a shot taken by Ben Hutton past Ortio at 6:55.
Colborne then tipped Hamilton's point shot past Miller during a Calgary power play at 11:54 of the second.
Backlund scored the game's first goal at 2:47 of the first period when he converted a nice pass from defenseman Jakub Nakladal.
The Canucks drew even at 6:23 when Tryamkin's shot from the point deflected off Flames forward Hunter Shinkaruk's stick and past Ortio.
Horvat snapped a shot just under Ortio's glove at 17:36 before Calgary responded with a goal by Hamilton 32 seconds later to pull the Flames into a 2-2 tie heading into the second intermission.
NOTES: Flames C Lance Bouma suffered an oblique injury during Calgary's 5-4 overtime loss at home to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday and will miss the remainder of the season. ... The Flames recalled C Drew Shore on Thursday on an emergency basis from the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League and he drew into the lineup against the Canucks. ... The Canucks were without rookie C Jared McCann because of an undisclosed injury. ... Vancouver called up LW Ronalds Kenins from the AHL's Utica Comets on Thursday afternoon and he made it to Calgary in time to start the game on a line with C Markus Granlund and RW Jake Virtanen. ... Vancouver's lone healthy scratch was D Yannick Weber, while Calgary also had one healthy scratch in G Niklas Backstrom.