The Calgary Flames are historically not good at winning the opening evening. Since the early 2000s, Calgary just seems to be cursed in that first game of the season. They have lost in season openers with bad teams, and they have lost in season openers with good teams. It doesn’t seem to be done for the flames.
This year they play the Edmonton Oilers on the road on October 8. They are currently on a three-game extraction streak in season openers and have not lost since they have breaking their record-breaking 12 game Losing Streak in 2022-23. Can the flames keep the good times rolling?
A look at the numbers
According to NHL recordsOf all the active franchises in the NHL, the Flames have the fourth lowest point percentage in season openers with only 39%. The only teams lower are the New York Islanders, Anaheim Ducks and the Seattle Kraken.
It is worth noting that if we include the Atlanta flames in those statistics, the point percentage of the Flames will actually increase. In the short Stint of Atlanta in the NHL they went 2-2–4 and received a percentage of exactly 50%. Combined, they land at 40.4%, which is still lower than the 41.7% of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It will also not get better if you look at more recent history. In the last 20 seasons, the Calgary Flames 4–16–0 went in season openers. For comparison, if we were to watch some of the worst records when opening games/weeks in the NFL, NBA and MLB, you can see below where the flames landed. Fans of one of these teams can probably tell you that this is not very good company to be in.
“History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes” – Mark Twain
At the end of the day this is a predominantly meaningless stat. The first game of the season is very rarely reflected how the rest of the season goes. The Flames lost their season opener in 2003–04 and tied their first match in 1988–89, but broke their 12-year-old Winless Streak in a year that they missed the play-offs.
At the same time, however, if you look at the other teams in the above graphs. The only team of the couple who has really been successful is the New York Islanders, and even they have not won a cup since Wayne Gretzky was 22 years old. It is clear that there is a small connection between teams that often lose the first game of the season and mediocre. If the goal for the Flames is to get out of the moody midst forever, it starts on eight October in Edmonton.
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