Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
The Calgary Flames were really out-played for the first two periods against the Colorado Avalanche. They managed to keep the game close because of some very strong goaltending, but they just couldn’t get anything going offensively. Heck, they generated two shots on goal over a nearly 30 minute span.
The Flames managed to generate some pushback in the final period and make a game of it, but it wasn’t nearly enough, and the Flames skated to a 4-2 loss to the Avalanche.

The rundown

The opening period was fairly even. Yes, Colorado got more shots, but the Flames had a decent amount of zone time but couldn’t translate their possession into chances very frequently.
Colorado, on the other hand, managed to open the scoring midway through the frame. Ross Colton threw the puck to the point for Ryan Lindgren, whose shot from the point – with a bunch of bodies in-between him and the net – eluded Dustin Wolf to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.
First period shots were 7-2 Avalanche. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 6-5 Flames (high-danger chances were 2-2).
The Avalanche really carried play throughout the first half of the second period. The Flames had to kill off a Blake Coleman interference minor, but their penalty kill was generally pretty effective and didn’t give Colorado much momentum.
Midway through the period, the Avalanche kept pressing. A Flames turnover led to a Cale Makar breakaway that was broken up by a Joel Hanley slash… and a Makar penalty shot. (Wolf waited him out and Makar lost control of the puck.)
But a little while later, the Avalanche scored again. Logan O’Connor flipped a puck through the neutral zone and it got through a bunch of Flames that were in the zone. Parker Kelly chased down the loose puck and beat Wolf on a breakaway to give Colorado a 2-0 lead.
Second period shots were 13-9 Avalanche. Five-on-five scoring chances were 12-6 Avalanche (high-dangers were 6-4 Avalanche).
Early in the third period, the Flames gave themselves a bit of hope as they spoiled Scott Wedgewood’s shutout bid. Matt Coronato fired a shot on net. Wedgewood made a pad save, but booted the rebound out to Blake Coleman. Coleman made no mistake, burying the puck into the open net to cut Colorado’s lead to 2-1.
The Flames had a few scoring chances following Coleman’s goal, but Wedgewood managed to keep the puck out of his net.
A little while later, Hanley bodied Kelly in the neutral zone but the puck continued up ice into the Flames’ zone. The Avalanche got the puck deep, and an alert Colton found Kelly in the net-front area for a quick pass and a quick shot by Kelly that beat Wolf. That made it 3-1 Avalanche.
But MacKenzie Weegar drew a minor driving the net, and on the resulting power play, a Rasmus Andersson point shot hit Jonathan Huberdeau in the shoulder, sailed up in the air and dropped into the Avalanche net to cut Colorado’s lead to 3-2.
That’s as close as the Flames got, though. They pulled Wolf for the extra attacker, but Valeri Nichushkin scored on the empty net from inside his own blueline to give the Avalanche a 4-2 edge.
Third period shots were 14-9 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 15-5 Flames (high-danger chances were 4-3 Flames).

Why the Flames lost

On an evening where the Flames did a great job at keeping Nathan MacKinnon at bay, they simply didn’t generate enough offensively to have a good chance to win this hockey game. They went 18:37 between their second and third shots, and 9:38 between their third and fourth shots. They managed to battle back to make a game of it, but they were too far behind the eight-ball at that point to catch up entirely.

Red Warrior

Nazem Kadri played 9:09 head-to-head against Nathan MacKinnon and kept him off the scoresheet. Morgan Frost played 4:25 against MacKinnon and also kept him quiet. (The Flames out-shot MacKinnon 4-2 when Kadri was against him, and were 3-3 with Frost to the ice.)

Turning point

Kelly’s insurance marker in the third period, his second of the game, really took the air out of the Flames. They had momentum and were making a push, but Colorado’s two goal lead was too much.

This and that

This was the first game Mikael Backlund missed since Apr. 2, 2021, breaking a consecutive games streak of 328 outings.

Up next

The Flames (30-24-11) are hitting the road again. First stop? The centre of the hockey universe on Monday night, where they’ll face the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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