Flames beat Minnesota 4-2 to prevent the Wild from clinching a playoff spot

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Nazem Kadri scored his 32nd goal of the season on a second-period power play and the Calgary Flames beat Minnesota 4-2 on Friday night to prevent the Wild from clinching a playoff spot Friday night.

Minnesota and St. Louis hold the two Western Conference wild-card spot, three points ahead of Calgary.

Mikael Backlund, Yegor Sharangovich and Ryan Lomberg also scored as Calgary built a 4-0 lead. Dustin Wolf made 16 saves, allowing only late goals to Yakov Trenin and Gustav Nyquist.

Filip Gustavsson stopped 25 shots for Minnesota before giving way to Marc-Andre Fleury after allowing Lomberg’s goal at 7:20 of the third.

Wild: Minnesota has lost six straight on the road (0-4-2).

Flames: Calgary has points in five straight games (3-0-2).

Calgary gave itself some rare breathing room early in the second period when Sharangovich and Kadri scored less than two minutes apart to open up a 3-0 lead.

Calgary swept the season series with the Wild for the first time since 2016-17.

The Wild are at Vancouver on Saturday night, then will close the regular season at home Tuesday night against Anaheim. The Flames host San Jose on Sunday night.

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

Calgary Flames' Nazem Kadri (91) celebrates his goal as fans cheer during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild's Brock Faber (7) tangles with Calgary Flames' Jonathan Huberdeau (10) in front of goalie Filip Gustavsson (32) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild's Zach Bogosian (24) checks Calgary Flames' Mikael Backlund (11) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild's Frederick Gaudreau (89) checks Calgary Flames' Brayden Pachal (94) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild's Gustav Nyquist (41) is checked by Calgary Flames' Joel Farabee (86) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild's Marcus Foligno (17) checks Calgary Flames' Rasmus Andersson (4) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild's Mats Zuccarello (36) is checked by Calgary Flames' MacKenzie Weegar (52) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild's Matt Boldy (12) checks Calgary Flames' MacKenzie Weegar (52) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild's Yakov Trenin (13) checks Calgary Flames' MacKenzie Weegar (52) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild's Jonas Brodin (25) checks Calgary Flames' Mikael Backlund (11) as he tries to deflect the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Calgary Flames' Yegor Sharangovich (17) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas.

The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”

Venezuela’s government, in the statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets.

“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”

The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.”

This comes as the U.S. military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. to combat drug trafficking.

Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the U.S. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes on boats in September.

U.S. President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The U.S. has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.

The U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on the explosions in Caracas on Saturday, showing images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared enmity of the U.S.

Pedestrians walk past the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Residents evacuate a building near the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)