Three takeaways from Flames' blowout loss in Las Vegas

7 days ago

Calgary Herald

Alex Pietrangelo #7 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores a goal against Dan Vladar #80 of the Calgary Flames in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on October 28, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Ethan Miller /Getty Images

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Flames - Figure 1 — Photo Calgary Herald

The Calgary Flames, after that superb start, are now on the wrong sort of streak.

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They’ve lost three in a row — and this latest one was ugly.

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The Flames’ sudden skid continued with Monday’s 5-0 shellacking from the Vegas Golden Knights, which drops their record this fall to 5-3-1.

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“It just wasn’t good enough overall,” Flames forward Connor Zary told Sportsnet 960 The Fan after the blowout loss. “It’s back to work tomorrow.”

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Perched atop the Pacific Division standings, the Golden Knights remain undefeated on home ice, having gone 7-0 so far at T-Mobile Arena.

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Fourth-line forward Keegan Kolesar was a force Monday for the hosts, potting a pair and adding an assist. Mark Stone, who continues to lead the league scoring race, notched a goal of his own, while Alex Pietrangelo and Nicolas Roy also put pucks behind Dan Vladar. He finished with 31 saves.

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At the opposite end, Adin Hill stopped 16 shots for a low-stress goose-egg.

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Here are three takeaways from Monday’s shutout in Sin City …

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GOOD VIBES FADING?

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This was a whupping. For the first time all the season, the Flames were the second-best team on the ice by a wide margin.

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They were out-shot by a 30-10 count over the final two frames. As workhorse defenceman Rasmus Andersson put it: “The second and third period were brutal.”

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They lost the majority of their puck and board battles.

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They watched Cole Schwindt, one of their final training-camp cuts, collect two points. The Flames were planning to send Schwindt back to the minors in early October when he was instead claimed off the waiver wire by the Golden Knights.

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If they don’t snap out of this skid soon, the Flames will be giving back any buffer they built with a sizzling start. They will already been hearing some I-told-you-sos from those who predicted this was going to be a woeful winter for the Calgary-based crew.

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Before we write ’em off, let’s see how they respond.

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The Flames will wrap this two-game roadie with their first visit to Salt Lake, and there will be plenty of motivation to earn a ‘W’ for captain Mikael Backlund in his 1,000th career game.

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They’ll then return home for Friday’s matchup against Jacob Markstrom and the New Jersey Devils and Sunday’s showdown with the Edmonton Oilers. (It’s too soon to say if the Oilers will be without superstar centre Connor McDavid, who was injured Monday in Columbus.)

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READY FOR A REUNION?

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After going the majority of the second period without a single shot on net, head coach Ryan Huska turned to a familiar trio as he searched for a spark.

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For the first time this fall, Nazem Kadri was skating with Zary and Martin Pospisil on his wings. You probably remember that as the ‘Kadri & The Kids’ line. This proved to be an effective combo for the Flames during the 2023-24 campaign, when both Pospisil and Zary were rookies.