By Canadian Press

Parekh, Morton score in NHL debuts, and the Flames beat the playoff-bound Kings 5-1

Apr 17, 2025 | 9:30 PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sam Morton and Zayne Parekh scored in their NHL debuts, Nazem Kadri had two goals and the Calgary Flames beat the playoff-bound Los Angeles Kings 5-1 on Thursday night in the regular-season finale.

Taylor Ward scored in his NHL debut for the Kings, whose four-game winning streak ended with only their fifth loss in 22 games since the trade deadline. Los Angeles failed to set new franchise highs for points and victories, instead matching the 2015-16 team’s 48 wins and the 1974-75 team’s 105 points.

David Rittich stopped 24 shots for the Kings, who will face the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth consecutive season — but with home-ice advantage for the first time. Los Angeles had the NHL’s best home record at 31-6-4.

Calgary scored four goals in 5 1/2 minutes in the third period. The undrafted Morton started it when he drove the net and muscled home a pass from Ryan Lomberg.

Parekh, a touted 19-year-old defenseman, scored two minutes later on a redirection of Mikael Backlund’s puck to the net.

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Backlund added his own goal to wrap up a game postponed from January due to the wildfires in Southern California.

Ward, a 27-year-old forward who isn’t related to the Los Angeles Angels outfielder with the same name, scored with 6:11 to play.

Takeaways

Flames: Parekh, the ninth overall pick last summer, is a cornerstone of the rebuild. So is rookie goalie Dustin Wolf, a product of the Junior Kings system.

Kings: While some regulars rested, Quinton Byfield returned from a one-game injury absence after getting cross-checked Monday by Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse. Defenseman Joel Edmundson also returned from a five-game injury absence.

Key moment

Kadri opened the scoring early in the second period. He then got his 35th goal of the season off a one-timer 83 seconds after Morton’s goal.

Key stat

Daniel Vladar made 30 saves for Calgary.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Greg Beacham, The Associated Press