Golden Knights keep playoff hopes alive with win over Flames

Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson each had a goal and two assists for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 5-1 win over the host Calgary Flames on Thursday.

With seven games left in their regular season, the Golden Knights (41-29-5) were two points back of the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators holding down the Western Conference's wild-card berths with 89 points apiece.

The Stars eked a point out of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild, while the Preds were blanked 4-0 by the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

The Flames (45-20-9) needed a single point to clinch an NHL playoff spot and be the second club in the West to do so following the Colorado Avalanche on April 6.

But the Golden Knights rattled off six unanswered goals, including four in the second period at the Saddledome.

Jack Eichel, Evgeni Dadonov, Michal Amadio and Nicolas Roy were the Knights' other goal scorers. Mattias Janmark had two assists.

Calgary native Logan Thompson stopped 35 of 36 shots for the win in his 12th career start for the Knights.

Flames starter Jacob Markstrom was pulled at 9:04 of the second period for Dan Vladar after allowing four goals on 17 shots. Vladar turned away six of eight shots in relief.

Dillon Dube scored Calgary's lone goal.

Karlsson beat Vladar's glove with a low wrist shot at 18:19 of the third period. Roy provided a screen and tipped in a Shea Theodore shot from the point for a power-play goal at 17:36 of the second.

A pair of Flames turnovers gave Vegas a 4-1 lead by 9:04. Janmark corralled the puck in the neutral zone and drove the wing to feed Marchessault, who chipped the puck upstairs on Markstrom for his 39th of the season.

Amadio caged a Matthew Tkachuk turnover in the offensive zone and then converted the