Flames fall to Avalanche in predictably tough game

Back-to-back against Cup contender offers little reason for Flames to overreact to defeat in Denver

There is a legitimate argument that there is absolutely nothing that anyone can learn about the Calgary Flames from their loss on Saturday night to the Colorado Avalanche.

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Really, what is there to get worked up about?

Yes, the Flames lost 5-2.

But they’d been on the ice 21 hours earlier at the Saddledome. That’s an entirely different city in not just a different state or province, but a completely different country.

Add in the fact that the Flames were playing an Avalanche team that should be one of the NHL’s best teams on its day, and Saturday had all the makings of a schedule-loss. There’s 84 games, you’re not going to win them all, right?

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Any reader expecting a counterargument might be in the wrong place.

The Flames played well enough on Saturday night, given the circumstances.

In only his second NHL start, Arsenii Sergeev stopped 28-of-33 shots. Those numbers aren’t really inspiring, but remember who the Flames were facing. Sergeev was playing in the AHL two days ago, and while it’s not unreasonable to hope for better in future appearances, this was a huge step-up in competition from anything he’s ever faced and the result hardly lies on his shoulders.

It does suggest that the Flames have a tough road head with Devin Cooley officially listed as day-to-day, but at least Dustin Wolf looked solid against the Seattle Kraken on Friday night.

Elsewhere, Joel Farabee stayed hot with his fifth goal of the year, while Martin Pospisil added his third in the third period.

The loss means the Flames end the opening month of their season sitting at 6-8-0. It’s not perfect, but when you consider that they started the season with five straight losses, it probably doesn’t feel like there’s much to complain about.

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