NHL Recaps: Flames huge rally, Patrick Kane hot, and Isles edge Jets
The Daily Goal Horn
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NHL Recaps: February 22, 2023
There were only three games on the National Hockey League slate for Wednesday night.
The New York Islanders were able to edge the Winnipeg Jets to increase their hold on a wild card spot in the East. Meanwhile, Patrick Kane is taking center stage not only as one of the top trade targets but for his scorching play on the ice. He led the Chicago Blackhawks to another victory, this time over Central Division leading Dallas Stars.
We start our recaps in Arizona, where the Calgary Flames, who are fighting for their playoff lives, rallied with five straight goals to beat the Coyotes.
NHL Recaps: Flames rally for win
Flames 6 vs Coyotes 3
Third-period goals 24 seconds apart by Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr capped Calgary’s comeback as the Flames claimed a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday in Tempe, Ariz.
Pelletier, Duehr, Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli all collected one goal and one assist while Milan Lucic and Mikael Backlund each scored for the Flames, who tallied five unanswered goals after falling behind 3-1.
“Going into the League, you don’t dream about certain numbers,” said Lindholm after recording his 500th career point. “You just want to play a couple games and … time just flies,”
Calgary goaltender Dan Vladar made 12 saves.
Clayton Keller netted one goal and one assist while Nick Schmaltz and Matias Maccelli also tallied for the Coyotes, who lost in regulation for the first time in 10 games. Goalie Karel Vejmelka stopped 45 shots.
NHL Recaps: Patrick Kane hot
Blackhawks 4 vs Stars 3
Patrick Kane and Max Domi each had two goals and an assist as visiting Chicago rallied from a three-goal, second-period deficit to beat Dallas. Kane has seven goals and ten points in his last four games.
“I was the beneficiary of a few plays tonight and even the last couple of games too,” Kane explained. “I think things are just clicking.”
Seth Jones added a pair of assists and Jaxson Stauber made 30 saves for the Blackhawks, who extended their win streak to four games, matching a season high.
Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist and Jason Robertson and Tyler Seguin also scored goals for the Blackhawks, who lost their fifth straight game (0-3-2). Jake Oettinger finished with 19 saves.
As for Kane, he’s yet to decide if he will be waiving his no-move clause to facilitate a trade. He was asked by the NHL on TNT crew if he was ready to break news on air before the game, but smiled before answering, “No.”
The 34 year-old superstar is believed to want to play for the New York Rangers and was dejected after they traded for Vladimir Tarasenko. However, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported that the two sides were closer than many thought to a trade and Kane still feels there’s a chance he can land on Broadway.
Late yesterday, Larry Brooks of the NY Post reported that the Rangers are still exploring a trade for Kane.
Read the latest and how the Rangers can make the cap space work to land Kane here.
Islanders 2 vs Jets 1
Simon Holmstrom scored the tie-breaking goal just before the midway point of the third period for host New York, which lengthened its lead in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with a win over Winnipeg in Elmont, N.Y.
Sebastian Aho scored in the first period for the Islanders, who won their second straight to move three points ahead of the idle Florida Panthers, who occupy the second wild-card spot in the East, and four points ahead of the idle Pittsburgh Penguins, who are in ninth place. Goalie Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored in the second for the Jets, who missed a chance to move past the idle Dallas Stars into first place in the Central Division. Hellebuyck recorded 20 saves for Winnipeg, which went 1-3-0 on a four-game Eastern Conference road trip.
–Field Level Media
–The Daily Goal Horn contributed to this article