Canadiens Stun Avalanche as NHL Weekend Takes Shape
The Canadiens handed the Avalanche a rare regulation loss Thursday night, setting the tone for a weekend that shifts from a quiet Friday to a full NHL slate Saturday, including marquee matchups across Canada and the United States.
CALGARY — The Montreal Canadiens shocked the Colorado Avalanche Thursday night with a 7–3 win at the Bell Centre. That was Montreal’s 30th win of the season as they sit atop the wild-card standings in the Eastern Conference, and they handed Colorado just its eighth regulation loss of the season as the Avalanche continue on with their historically successful campaign.
Friday’s NHL schedule is unusually light, with only one other game across the league. The lone matchup has the Columbus Blue Jackets visiting the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center.
The Blue Jackets enter the night 7–3 in their last 10 games, though they remain 10 points outside of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, leaving significant ground to make up despite the recent surge.
Columbus is still adjusting under new head coach Rick Bowness, who was appointed Jan. 12 following the firing of Dean Evason. Bowness, 70, was brought in to provide structure, defensive improvement, and veteran leadership after previously coaching the Winnipeg Jets.
Chicago enters the weekend with a 21-24-9 record and sits eight points outside of a playoff position as it continues through a developmental season.
The league schedule ramps up Saturday with a full slate of 14 games. In Calgary, the Flames host the San Jose Sharks in a 2 p.m. MT matinee. The Flames are 21-26-6 on the season, tied at 48 points and sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
Elsewhere Saturday, the Canadiens travel to Western New York for a marquee matchup against the Buffalo Sabres. National attention will also follow the Toronto Maple Leafs as they visit the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena, with live coverage across all Provectus Media platforms from Vancouver on Saturday.
Colorado continues its road swing with an early start Saturday morning, visiting the Detroit Red Wings with puck drop scheduled for 11 a.m. MT.
Flames seize momentum on Hockey Day in Canada with 4–2 win over Islanders
Calgary built a four-goal cushion by the midpoint of the game and held off a late Islanders push to earn a 4–2 victory on Hockey Day in Canada. The win keeps the Flames within striking distance in a crowded Western Conference playoff race.
CALGARY — The Calgary Flames leaned on opportunistic scoring and strong goaltending Saturday afternoon, defeating the New York Islanders 4–2 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Hockey Day in Canada to collect two critical points in the Western Conference playoff race.
Despite being outshot 30–19, Calgary converted its chances at key moments and received a composed performance from goaltender Dustin Wolf, improving to 21 wins and 46 points on the season.
Yegor Sharangovich opened the scoring late in the first period, snapping a wrist shot past Islanders netminder David Rittich at 11:51 after setup work from Rasmus Andersson and Kevin Bahl. The goal gave Calgary a 1–0 lead after a tightly contested opening frame.
The second period proved decisive not because of puck possession, but execution. While New York held a 9–7 edge in shots during the middle frame, the Flames struck three times in an eight-minute span.
Adam Klapka doubled the lead at 3:04 of the second with a net-front tip-in off a point shot from Bahl, with Morgan Frost also earning an assist. Justin Kirkland followed at 9:50, scoring his first goal of the season to make it 3–0 after taking a cross-slot feed from Ryan Lomberg and lifting a shot over Rittich. Yan Kuznetsov added another at 11:49, finishing a play created by Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary to cap the surge.
The Islanders responded quickly through Jean-Gabriel Pageau at 12:21 of the second, but Calgary’s early cushion held through the remainder of the period.
New York pushed hard in the third, and Islanders head coach Patrick Roy made an aggressive move by pulling Rittich for the extra attacker with more than eight minutes remaining. The extended six-on-five pressure produced a late goal from Anders Lee at 17:04, but that was as close as the Islanders would come as Calgary closed out the win.
Wolf finished the afternoon with 28 saves on 30 shots for a .933 save percentage, turning aside sustained pressure and limiting second chances. Rittich stopped 15 of 19 shots (0.789) for New York.
Three Stars
Kevin Bahl, CGY — Two assists and steady defensive play.
Adam Klapka, CGY — A goal and an assist.
Rasmus Andersson, CGY — 25:40 TOI and an assist in what could be his last game with the club.
Kirkland’s goal stood as the game-winner and reinforced a familiar formula for Calgary, which continues to find success when it generates enough offense to reach the four-goal mark.
The victory came in front of an announced crowd of 17,358 and carried notable standings implications. The Flames remain five points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference currently held by the San Jose Sharks. In the Pacific Division, Calgary trails the Vegas Golden Knights by 12 points, the Edmonton Oilers by eight, and the Seattle Kraken by five, keeping the race behind the division leader tightly contested.
Calgary has also made recent roster adjustments aimed at boosting its offense, including the recall of Matvei Gridin from the Calgary Wranglers. With eight games remaining before the Olympic break, the Flames enter a critical positioning window. Once play resumes, the stretch drive toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs truly begins.
Saturday’s performance offered a clear blueprint: efficient finishing, disciplined structure, and goaltending capable of holding the line. For a team still within reach, it was exactly the type of afternoon that keeps belief intact.