SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- It was a night of firsts on the last night of the regular season for the Calgary Flames and the Minnesota Wild. First games, first goals, first points and a first-ever win over a familiar opponent.

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.

Goaltender Niklas Backstrom won for the first time against his former team by stopping 35 shots in the building he called home for nine seasons.

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, a defenseman 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 for what turned out to be the game winner.

"Any shot's a good shot and if it gets on net you have a chance of it going in," Sieloff said. "I thought it went in right away and I went behind the net and I saw it and I couldn't believe it."

Sieloff made his NHL debut along with left winger Turner Elson and fellow defenseman Oliver Kylington after the trio was recalled from the Stockton Heat on Friday. Elson notched his first NHL point with the second assist on Bollig's tying goal.

But the best player on the ice was Backstrom, who rewarded coach Bob Hartley's confidence in what was likely the veteran Calgary goaltender's final NHL game.

When Hartley revealed Backstrom would be his team's starting goaltender for the regular-season finale, the decision was met with more than a few raised eyebrows.

But who could blame them?

Backstrom hadn't exactly made much of an impression on the masses with his .836 save percentage and a 4.16 goals-against average in his three appearances since his Feb. 29 acquisition, along with a sixth-round draft pick, from the Wild for David Jones.

Hartley, however, dismissed the notion his decision was simply a favor to the 38-year-old Backstrom, who played in nine seasons with Minnesota (2006-15), and is the franchise record holder for goalies in games played (409), games started (391), wins (194) and shutouts (28).

Hartley insisted the opportunity had been earned.

"It was a well-deserved reward for him to get the final start of our season especially in front of his old team, his old fans," Hartley said. "And what a game. In the first period he came up with some huge saves. He's the only guy that kept us in the 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.

"It was fun," Backstrom said."It was fun to play a good game, get a win and it just felt good."

Despite the loss, Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk was happy for his friend on the other end of the ice.

"Just to see him get as many shots as he did and be as sharp as he was ... it was good to see," Dubnyk said. "Nice for him to finish the season on that note."

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 and turned out to be Dubnyk's final save of the night before Kuemper replaced him halfway through the contest. Kuemper made 17 saves in taking the loss.

Playing just his second game with the Wild after his call-up from the Iowa Wild on Monday, Zac 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 under Backstrom at the 13-minute mark of the second period.

Minnesota entered the third period seemingly as in control of a one-goal lead as possible with a 31-11 edge in shots on goal.

"Then we got frustrated because we didn't get the goals on the power play and then we tried to do it too individually," Minnesota coach John Torchetti said. "And then two neutral-zone turnovers, you know what we stressed about going into the game. Looking for something that's not there."

The Wild enter the postseason riding a five-game losing streak and face the Dallas Stars to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

A visibly emotional Backstrom wasn't sure about his future, not only in the NHL, but in hockey.

"I still love the game, I still love the work, I still love to be with the guys," Backstrom said. "I'll take a little time here and sit down and, it's hockey, there's a lot of other things in life too.

"If this is the end it's a great way, but we'll see what happens."

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. ... 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.