SportsHockeyFlames

What Calgary Flames players had to say after lopsided loss to Colorado

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Feb 7 2025, 1:00 pm
What Calgary Flames players had to say after lopsided loss to Colorado
Sergei Belski/Imagn Images

The Calgary Flames were the second best team on the ice for the second straight game, and paid the price against a talented Colorado Avalanche roster.

The Flames played a similar game as they did in Tuesday’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, starting strong but falling apart in the second period. A late goal from Rasmus Andersson in last night’s outing made it appear close on paper, but it was evident to anyone watching that the Avalanche were the far better team in what ended as a 4-2 final.

“First period I thought was a good period,” head coach Ryan Huska said. “I thought when they scored early in the second we were flat from that point on … I didn’t think we had a lot of pushback after they scored early in the second period.ā€

The Flames have had far too many passengers these past couple games, with few stepping up and being difference-makers. Aside from an Adam Klapka fight in the second period, their fourth line struggled once again, though they weren’t the only ones in last night’s loss.

“Those are the moments in a game where you have to have your next line, your next pair, or your goaltender, whoever that may be, has to try and flip the momentum quickly,” Huska explained. “Whether that’s a hit or time in the offensive zone, whatever the case may be. Those are situations where you have to call upon your line mates or your pairs. Someone’s got to shift the momentum. We didn’t get to that tonight.”

This loss marked the third straight defeat for Dustin Wolf. While he’s far from the issue, he hasn’t looked like the dominant netminder Flames fans have quickly grown accustomed to.

“You never want to give up nine goals in two games,” Wolf said. “The start of games, I’ve felt good. There’s been moments throughout them I’ve felt like I’m on top of my game, and then there’s been moments where it kind of gets away from me, where they bury two in a very short span of time.”

While somewhat critical of himself, the team in front of Wolf hasn’t been at its best. Rather than the tight-checking, stingy defensive group they’ve been for the majority of the season, they’ve been giving up far too many high-danger chances in each of these past two losses.

“We’ve got to be more committed to playing that defensive game and defend hard,” MacKenzie Weegar said. “It seems in the defensive zone there’s guys getting behind us. We’ve got to find that commitment to play hard [defence] and cause them to make turnovers.”

Right now, this looks like a Flames group that could use a bit of a break, and they’ll soon get one thanks to the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. First, however, will be a game against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.

ADVERTISEMENT