The Calgary Flames suffer a demoralizing defeat at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights – The Win Column

The Calgary Flames will remain at the bottom of the standings for the foreseeable future. Heading into Saturday night, the Flames were ranked last in the entire NHL, and that won’t change heading into Sunday. A 6-1 defeat was extremely demoralizing as the team struggled to get anything going. Several things need to be looked at and explored. Before we go there, though, let’s take a look at what happened over the course of 60 minutes.

How did the game go?

First period

The first period got off to a terrible start as just 46 seconds later, Mitch Marner scored his first goal with the Vegas Golden Knights. A turnover behind the net, Ivan Barbashev found Marner streaking to the slot. After making the pass, Marner, all alone, fired one past Dustin Wolf. However, the Flames had a big chance when Brayden McNabb was sent to the penalty area for interference. On their first power play of the game, the Flames scored a big one, with Jonathan Huberdeau scoring in his season debut. A battle for Adin Hill, Huberdeau pushed one into the net.

However, that was actually the only high Calgary rode on the Vegas Strip. Tomas Hertl scored on the power play after Rasmus Andersson sent the puck over the glass. His quick release from the slot gave Vegas the lead, a lead they never looked back from.

Almost ten minutes later it was Mark Stone who stepped up to the plate. A quick rush across the ice, and as Stone drove to the net, he set up a slick feed from Jack Eichel. While outscoring their opponents 13-9, Calgary did not have the advantage on the scoreboard and went into the break two down.

Second period

Although the first period was the most entertaining, there were also many goals scored in the second and third. Ivan Barbashev fooled Wolf with a redirect in front of the net for his second point of the night. Kaedan Korczak’s point shot found its way through traffic, giving the Knights a 4-1 lead.

Joel Hanley gave the Knights their second-man advantage in the game, and once again they made them pay. Mitch Marner started the breakaway and easily burned the Flames defenseman. Holding Wolf tight, he dangled by sliding one in for his second. The middle frame was all Vegas, with the Flames deprived of oxygen and completely suffocating. Being outshot 10–4, the Golden Knights created multiple chances, while Calgary failed.

Third period

Everything fell away in the third, compared to the previous 40 minutes. No fighting, just one goal, and the chances were much more even. Between the pipes, however, there was a change for the Flames. Devin Cooley took over for Wolf and closed out a game in which Calgary was out of action.

Vegas kept up the pressure and intensity, giving Calgary no chance for a miraculous comeback. With Nazem Kadri in the penalty area, Mark Stone scored his second, making it a 6-1 game. Stone pounced on a Cooley rebound to give the Knights their third power-play goal on as many attempts.

There was never any doubt about the game; the Flames lacked confidence and the ability to compete. They couldn’t last all night.

The return of Jonathan Huberdeau

Jonathan Huberdeau was activated from the Injured Reserve a day ago. Then, rookie sensation Matvei Gridin was sent to the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL. He also made his season debut with them tonight. Huberdeau is having his best season with the Flaming C, recording 62 points (28 goals, 34 assists) in 81 games. He wasted no time getting started this season.

As previously mentioned, Huberdeau was the Flames’ lone scorer, putting one goal past Adin Hill on the man advantage. The $10.5 million man still has more to do to fulfill his contract. However, seeing an attack on a team struggling to score promises to allow him to continue to improve.

Whether tonight was just a one-off or if he can keep this up for the rest of the campaign remains to be seen.

Dustin Wolf can’t play every game

Finally, something that came up after the first few games is the overplaying of Dustin Wolf. He can’t play every game. The team risks overloading him and leaving their superstar seriously injured. Mentioned after the game against the Vancouver Canucks, something similar happened to Thatcher Demko.

There was some hesitation about playing Cooley or free agent Ivan Prosvetov. However, Cooley was rocked in his only start so far this campaign. He has shown that he can be relied on. To both lighten Wolf’s workload and remove the risk of him overworking, and to give this team a chance to win. As also mentioned in the post-game against the Canucks, no one in the NHL is Miika Kiprusoff.

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Where do the flames go from here?

Calgary is in the basement of the NHL. Any chance of improvement compared to the previous season no longer seems possible. A lot of things need to change on the ice; Until then, results like this will continue to appear. First and foremost, see which defender fits best next to Zayne Parekh. Let the superstar of the future get used to the competition, ideally next to someone who can help him develop.

Next up, the Flames will play the Winnipeg Jets on Monday at the Scotiabank Saddledome, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 PM MT.

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