Avalanche Pull Away From Flames With 7-3 Win in Cowtown
CALGARY, AB — For 23 minutes Thursday night, the Calgary Flames went toe-to-toe with the Colorado Avalanche at Scotiabank Saddledome. Then the Avalanche did what contenders do: they buried Calgary in under four minutes.
Three goals in a 3:54 span of the second period turned a 1-1 deadlock into a 4-1 Colorado lead, and the Avalanche never looked back in a 7-3 win that dropped the Flames to 0-4-0.
Calgary native Cale Makar torched his hometown team with three points to earn first-star honours. Nathan MacKinnon matched him with three points of his own, and Devon Toews scored twice.
The Promise Before the Collapse
Toews struck first at 15:54 of the opening period, beating Devin Cooley with assists from Makar and Brock Nelson.
Calgary answered 1:36 later — and what an answer. Adam Klapka's highlight-reel equalizer tied it 1-1, with Jonathan Castagna picking up his first career point with an assist in his NHL debut.
The Flames carried that life into the second period. Then the roof caved in.
Toews' second of the night — a point shot through a maze of traffic in front of Cooley — restored the lead. Makar wired one home from inside the circle to make it 3-1. MacKinnon then unleashed a one-timer into the top of the net after sustained Colorado pressure.
1-1 to 4-1. Three goals. Three minutes, 54 seconds. Ballgame.
The frustration boiled over: Matt Coronato and Zachary L'Heureux dropped the gloves during the second period.
No Way Back
Colorado kept pouring it on in the third.
MacKinnon struck again at 5:35, ripping one from the top of the circle with Artturi Lehkonen screening Cooley. Less than a minute later, Jaden Schwartz found himself all alone in the slot and made it 6-1.
Calgary showed some pride. Captain Mikael Backlund redirected a Ryan Strome feed home after a give-and-go to cut it to 6-2. Kevin Bahl then buried his first of the season off a passing sequence from Yegor Sharangovich and Joel Farabee to make it 6-3.
But the Avalanche had the last word — a centring pass deflected off the skate of Flames defenceman Jake Middleton and in, sealing the 7-3 final.
By the Numbers
The shot clock told a closer story than the scoreboard: Colorado held just a 30-29 edge.
The Avalanche dominated the dot, winning 58.6% of faceoffs to Calgary's 41.4%.
Neither power play could buy one. Calgary went 0-for-2; Colorado went 0-for-3.
Calgary outhit Colorado 23-18 and outblocked them 15-14. The Avalanche committed 23 giveaways to Calgary's 18 but held a 5-3 takeaway edge.
The Search for Win No. 1
The second period was Calgary's season in miniature: competitive early, then undone by breakdowns in coverage as Colorado found shooting lanes and traffic in front of Cooley at will.
The Avalanche's finish was the difference. The Flames' two third-period goals were pride, not a comeback.
Four games. Four losses. 0-4-0.
The teams will meet again October 31 in Colorado before completing their season series April 8 at the Saddledome.
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