What’s Good Calgary, your weekly Flames recap is here! That’s right, it’s Friday and the week is finally coming to a close. We had a week of exciting (if somewhat disappointing) Flames hockey to keep us occupied after hours and now it’s time for the recap.
Starting off is Saturday’s game against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Now, this was never going to be a walk in the park, this was always going to be a hard fought battle for a point or two against an elite team (1st in the division). In classic Flames fashion they went behind in the 1st period, and then of course went two goals down mid way through the 2nd period. Also in classic Flames fashion this meant that the comeback was so on (and so it was). A late goal by Hanley saw them cut the deficit in half, and an early goal in the 3rd by Coronato saw the Flames tie things up and eventually send things to overtime! Unfortunately it was all for naught as the Flames were dominated in OT and gave up the winning goal on the flukiest goal you’re likely to see this season, just par for the course for our Flames’ luck this season. Flames lose 3-2 in OT against the Knights.
Following this loss the Flames had an easier matchup ahead of them, right? An away game sure but away to the Sharks, one of the absolute worst teams in the league right now. Should be an easy win, fueled by the fires of the weekend’s loss. Well no, you thought wrong. The Flames gave up 18 shots in the 1st period, with the Sharks scoring at the death of it, Will Smith assisted by the talented star Macklin Celebrini. Fortunately, the Flames were relentless after that putting up 3 in the 3rd period, including a goal from Adam Klapka (our hero) and an unassisted steal by Coronato to seal it with the game winning goal. Sharks would score again but it would be trivial. Sharks sink 3-2 against the Flames. Playoff hopes are still alive, only just.
Next up, another easy game against the other bad California team. After beating them 4-1 just 6 days prior the Flames were ready to take on the Anaheim Ducks once again. A high intensity 1st period saw no goals but the Flames outshoot the Ducks 13-7 which was a positive note. Early in the 2nd Backlund tipped a puck in to take the lead (uh oh, red flag, Flames are comeback merchants I don’t know about taking the lead first). The Ducks would tie it up in the 3rd through Trevor Zegras, assisted by ex-Flame Oliver Kylington but that would be wiped away quite quickly as the Flames put up another 2 goals midway through the period to take a commanding lead. Or so it seemed. 2 goals in a whopping 8 seconds, yes, 2 in 8 seconds, by the Ducks would tie the game up out of nowhere. This would also lead to yet another OT game, 3 in the last 6 going to OT for the Flames. 1 minute into OT the Flames would give up a goal and the game was done. Playoff hopes looking nearly gone now after getting only a point when it should have been two in the bag.
That leads us to tonight, a massive game, a true do-or-die matchup against none other than our playoff race rivals, the Minnesota Wild. This isn’t just any game this is a classic four-point swing, the kind that could breathe life into fading postseason dreams or slam the door shut entirely. It’s high stakes, high pressure, and high drama. The kind of hockey that reminds you why you watch in the first place. Every shift matters, every mistake stings, and every goal could be the difference between booking tee times or preparing for a playoff push. So buckle up, Calgary, tonight the Flames either rise from the ashes… or get buried in the snow. Let’s find out which.