SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Goals less than a minute apart late in the third period by Calgary's Brandon Bollig and Patrick Sieloff erased a one-goal Minnesota lead and lifted the Flames to a 2-1 win over the Wild in the final regular-season game for both teams on Saturday night in front of 19,247 at Xcel Energy Center.
With Minnesota clinging to a 1-0 lead despite more than 30 shots on goal, Bollig received a Drew Shore pass in the left circle and beat Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper high to tie the score.
Just 31 seconds later, Sieloff, who was playing his first NHL game, threw a backhand shot toward the Minnesota net from the right circle that bounced over Kuemper's glove and just inside the near-side post.
But the best player on the ice was Niklas Backstrom, who rewarded coach Bob Hartley's confidence with 35 saves in what was likely the veteran Calgary goaltender's final NHL game.
Backstrom significantly improved upon his most recent start when he allowed two goals on the first three shots he faced in the Flames' 6-2 loss to the Wild on March 24.
On Saturday, Backstrom stopped all 13 first-period shots he faced, including Ryan Carter's redirection near the six-minute mark and center Charlie Coyle's one-timer from between the circles on a Minnesota power play eight minutes later.
After a five-shot opening period, Calgary's offensive struggles carried well into the second thanks in part to two early Wild power plays. The Flames' first shot of the second period came at 9:13 turned out to be Devan Dubnyk's final save of the night before Kuemper replaced him halfway through the contest.
Playing just his second game with the Wild after his call-up from the Iowa Wild on Monday, Dalpe scored his first goal in a Minnesota sweater and first overall since April 1, 2015, with the Buffalo Sabres.
Carter carried the puck down the right wall before losing his footing at the hash mark. From a seated position, Carter slipped a pass to Dalpe, whose backhanded shot from the bottom of the right circle slid the game winner under Backstrom at the 13-minute mark of the second period.
NOTES: Wild LW Zach Parise, who had a hat trick and an assist against Calgary on March 24, sat out Saturday in preparation for the postseason. ... Minnesota's seventh Stanley Cup playoff appearance in franchise history (2003, 2007-08, 2013-16) is also its fourth consecutive, making the Wild one of just six teams to do so. ... Calgary's season finale marked the NHL debuts of three Flames players. LW Turner Elson, D Oliver Kylington and D Patrick Sielhoff were recalled from the Stockton Heat on Friday and suited up in an NHL uniform for the first time against the Wild. ... Wild LW Ryan Carter returned to the lineup after missing nine games because of an upper-body injury and the birth of his third child. ... D Mark Giordano (21) and Dougie Hamilton (12) are the first pair of Calgary defensemen to score 12 or more goals in a season since Phil Housley (16) and Zarley Zalapski (12) in 1995-96.
