The stars have been shining against the Calgary Flames this season. This week, a pair of demoralizing losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche showed that the plucky and perhaps lucky Flames have a lot to learn before they can consider themselves a real playoff threat.
There’s a big difference between being in the hunt for a playoff position and being a playoff contender. The reality check came this week for a Flames team that dropped a 6-3 contest to the Maple Leafs and a 4-2 decision to the Colorado Avalanche.
On Tuesday, William Nylander netted a hat-trick in his hometown. Two nights later, Nathan MacKinnon re-took the NHL scoring lead with a three-point night.
For good measure, another Calgary kid, Cale Makar, and Martin Necas — once a Calgary Flames trade target — both also played big roles in beating the Flames on Thursday.
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Despite getting the first goal when Jonathan Huberdeau scored his 21st of the season on a two-man advantage, the game never really felt out of Avalanche control.
Goaltender Dustin Wolf made 30 saves, but had just an average evening — further illustrating the trend this year of the Flames needing elite goaltending to beat their most talented opponents.
“It’s a very skilled group over there, especially their top line, so if you give them opportunities they’re going to make you pay. They took advantage of some turnovers and mistakes we made,” Wolf told reporters in Calgary after the game.
Sounded familiar just 48 hours after similar things were said of the Leafs.
“I think they were kind of almost replica games,” Wolf added. “We had a good start and the game kind of got away from us in the second period and (we were) not able to recover.”
The trend isn’t new. Although the Flames recently had a massive win over a top team in the Winnipeg Jets, it was Wolf who stood on his head to steal that one.
Other losses to teams with elite scorers and overall skill included their 3-1 loss to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at the end of last month, the 5-2 loss to the Jets a couple of nights earlier, A shutout showing against the Vegas Golden Knights, a 6-2 defeat against the Stars in Dallas and an 8-3 drubbing at the hands of Nikita Kucherov and his Tampa Bay Lightning also stick out as sore spots from December.
“We have to find a way to be harder, better players against other teams’ top players,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska said. “Especially in our building, they shouldn’t be able to come in and get three points like (MacKinnon) does tonight.”
