VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- There's something about Saturday nights that are all right for Calgary Flames left winger Michael Frolik.

Frolik scored a pretty second-period goal and added an assist in the third as the Flames defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-1.

The goal was Frolik's ninth of the season. In the eight Saturday games he has played this season, Frolik has eight points, including four goals.

"Maybe Saturday is the day for me," the 27-year-old from Kladno, Czech Republic, said. "Maybe it's a good-luck charm on Saturday.

"I hope there will be more games on Saturdays."

No matter what the night, it was a big win for the Flames (23-25-3), who are battling to remain in the Western Conference playoff race. Calgary is three points back of Vancouver and nine behind Colorado and Nashville in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

"On the road, we haven't been great this season," Frolik said. "After the (All-Star) break, we feel good.

"We have nothing to lose right now. We need to play every game like it's a Game 7. I think it's going to be like that for the rest of the season. We need that mindset and believe we can do that."

Frolik's goal came on a pretty three-way passing play at 6:25 of the second period.

The Flames took advantage when Vancouver defenseman Alex Edler got caught up ice. Center Mikael Backlund carried the puck up the ice, then passed to streaking defenseman T.J. Brodie. He waited for Miller to commit himself, then passed to Frolik, who tucked the puck into the open corner.

"I was just driving to the net and it came right to my stick," Frolik said of the pass. "I just tried not to miss it."

After scoring just one goal during the first 55 minutes, the teams combined four goals in the final 4:53.

Center Sean Monahan scored the deciding goal at 15:07 of the third period. Backlund and center Sam Bennett both scored into an empty net and each added an assist.

Right winger Emerson Etem scored the only goal for Vancouver (20-20-12) at 18:26. It was his first of the season and first since coming to the Canucks in a mid-January trade with the New York Rangers.

"Obviously, you want to get those in a win, but for me it's been a struggle to put them in," Etem said.

There was lots of praise in the Calgary dressing room for goaltender Jonas Hiller, who made 34 saves and kept the Flames in the game when they were outshot 18-9 in the second period.

"In the second period, they got some momentum and we found a way to get into the third with a 1-0 lead," Hiller said. "It was definitely a great win for us."

The Flames improved to 2-4-0 in their last six games. The win also snapped a three-game streak where Calgary lost when playing in the second night of back-to-back games.

"We haven't played great against division rivals this year," Backlund said. "It was a big win for us on the road. We can build on this."

It was the fourth consecutive loss for Vancouver, which sits six points out of a wild-card spot. It also was the Canucks' third straight home loss where they scored just one goal.

"The points are slipping away," center Henrik Sedin said. "I see enough chances for us to score more goals, but there have been a few too many games we have come up with one and that's not enough."

Miller said there's no time for the Canucks to feel sorry for themselves.

"It's frustrating and we've got to start turning the corner and use this as motivation," said Miller, who made 26 saves. "We've got to start digging ourselves out. No one else can do it but us, so start digging."

NOTES: The return of D Dan Hamhuis, who wore a modified helmet for extra protection after missing 21 games with facial fractures, means the Canucks are healthy for the first time since the season opened. ... D Yannick Weber, who had been a healthy scratch the last seven games, cleared waivers and was assigned to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. ... C Jared McCann, RW Adam Cracknell and D Alex Biega were scratches. ... It was the first Pacific Division team Vancouver had played since losing 3-2 to Arizona on Jan. 4. ... The Canucks play again Tuesday in Colorado. ... G Karri Ramo, who played in Calgary's 2-1 loss to Columbus on Friday, started 18 of the last 21 games. ... Scratches were C Joe Colborne, D Jakub Nakladal, and C Markus Grandlund. ... LW Brandon Bollig returned the lineup after being scratched the last two games. ... The Flames play Toronto at home on Tuesday.