Two games past the halfway mark of the 2025-26 regular season, the Calgary Flames are in a bit of a hole.
30th place with an 18-21-4 record. A .465 points percentage and, if the draft lottery were held today, the Flames would have an 11.5% chance at being drawn to pick first overall at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
If you didn’t own a TV and only caught games live in Calgary, you would have no idea how dismal this season has been.
The Calgary Flames have the 12th-best home record at 12-7-2 and 26 points in the standings. Their points percentage at home is 11th place at .619. 63-50 in goals. A playoff-worthy on-ice product.
On the road? The Calgary Flames are the worst team in the NHL.
A 6-14-2 record in games wearing a white jersey. A -30 scoring differential at 48-78. A .318 points percentage in away games puts Calgary well below the second-lowest Toronto at .353.
Worst Road Points Percentages – NHL
Calgary Flames: .318
Toronto Maple Leafs: .353
Winnipeg Jets: .364
Fans can only question what is going on with such a stark contrast between home and away. Let’s lay out the suspects.
Defence
The number one difference statistically is Calgary’s ability to keep the puck out of the net. Only 2.38 goals against per game at the Saddledome puts them in similar territory to Colorado’s league leading 2.21 goals against per game. Mind you, the Avalanche have an even better 1.89 goals against per game when they’re playing at home, but Calgary’s 2.38 is second place.
Lowest Goals Against per Game at Home
Colorado Avalanche: 1.89
Calgary Flames: 2.38
Philidelphia Flyers: 2.57
Calgary’s advanced stats at home offer a bit more to chew on.
5v5 Goals Against per 60: 2.12 (6th lowest)
5v5 Expected Goals Against per 60: 2.65 (9th lowest)
High Danger Chances Against per 60: 12.23 (6th lowest)
Power Play Goals Allowed per Game: 0.48
We see that Calgary is keeping a few more pucks out of the net than expected in order to reach 2.38 goals against per game. Sixth-best in expected goals against at home versus second best in actual goals against.
Let’s take a look at Calgary’s defensive results while on the road.
Goals Against per Game: 3.55 (26th)
5v5 Expected Goals Against per 60: 2.59 (8th lowest)
High Danger Chances Against per 60: 11.28 (11th lowest)
Power Play Goals Allowed per Game: 0.64 (14th)
We’re seeing relatively stable underlying play at even strength that is recording vastly different actual results depending on where they’re facing off. The stats imply that the Flames can’t entirely blame their road woes on their ability to defend. Let’s take a look at the goalies.
Goaltending
Greatly impacting Calgary’s defensive results is MVP Dustin Wolf. The 24 year old from Gilroy, California is the best goaltender in the NHL when playing in front of a home crowd. Here is how he stacks up against other goaltenders to start at least ten games in their home arena.
Best Home Save Percentages – NHL
Dustin Wolf: .925
Scott Wedgewood: .917
Andrei Vasilevski: .916
There is a case to be made for Jesper Wallstedt of Minnesota, who is 6-1-1 at home and carries a .930 save percentage in those games, but workload also can’t be ignored. Wallstedt’s 17 appearances don’t compare to Wolf’s 34. Calgary’s resident starter has logged more than 800 more minutes than Wallstedt’s 1043:20.
Calgary’s backup, Devin Cooley, also has a solid body of work at the Saddledome. In three starts the six-foot-five netminder is 2-1-0 with a .906 save percentage.
Dustin Wolf’s results on the road? Pretty bad. It’s not all on the 24 year old star’s shoulders, but worth examining.
Flames Goaltenders – Away Games
Dustin Wolf: 4-11-0, .867 Sv%, 3.97 goals against average
Devin Cooley: 2-3-2, .918 Sv%, 2.21 goals against average
That is a stark contrast. 3.97 goals against per game versus 2.17 at home for Calgary’s starter. .925 vs .867 in save percentage.
Is this just a matter of Dustin Wolf simply playing worse in front of a hostile crowd? It’s hard to deny the results. Calgary’s star netminder has the worst road 5v5 goals saved above expected in the NHL at -12.41.
Lowest Road Goals Saved Above Expected – 5v5
Dustin Wolf: -12.41
Jordan Binnington: -9.26
Samuel Ersson: -7.43
Something truly wild? Dustin Wolf is either near top or at the bottom of the league in goals saved above expected. In home games, he ranks third with 9.06 goals saved above expected. When away, he’s the aforementioned -12.41.
Luckily for Dustin, there are lots of factors to blame for Calgary’s last place road record. A Flickering Flames offence is the top suspect.
Offence
Wolf and Cooley haven’t had run support to work with. Calgary’s 2.18 goals per game on the road is far and away the worst in the NHL.
Lowest Goals For per Road Game
Calgary Flames: 2.18
New Jersey Devils: 2.45
Winnipeg Jets: 2.55
Compare that to a 22nd place 3.00 goals for per game at the Dome and we can see that Calgary’s road issues extend beyond Dustin Wolf not liking away games. The offence consistently goes ice cold when the team leaves Calgary. Three Flames players are scoring at above 0.50 points per road game. Nazem Kadri tops the three at 0.77 pts/gm.
The worst offence and lowest performing goaltending are clear explanations for six wins in 22 road games, but there is one more culprit.
Discipline
The 2025-26 Calgary Flames have infraction issues. The team ranks third in PIM at 563 or 13:05 PIM per game. Not all of that is killing penalties as misconducts and offsetting calls are also tallied into PIM. The team is a much more pedestrian 144 in minor penalties served. Good for 15th in the NHL. Their league leading 16 misconducts adds a lot of volume to that 563.
Most Misconduct Penalties
Calgary Flames: 16
Boston Bruins: 13
Edmonton Oilers: 11
In terms of penalties taken vs drawn, the Flames are a perfect 0. So, we can’t blame their road record on discipline.
Or can we?
It turns out that Calgary’s penalty issues get a lot worse on the road. 14 of their 16 misconducts were taken in their 22 road games. They almost double second place Boston’s eight road misconducts.
Time Shorthanded per Game
Home: 4:03 (6th least)
Away: 5:28 (14th most)
Killing almost an entire penalty per game isn’t a great way to scrape by. That beautiful zero net penalties taken? Entirely made up in their home games.
Net Penalties – Calgary Flames
Home: +13
Away: -13
Interestingly, despite Wolf’s variance between home and away games, and despite the players committing far more penalties on the road, their penalty kill is almost identical at home and away.
Calgary Flames Penalty Kill
Home: 81.5%
Away: 81.6%
All of this leads to the slimmest of margins being taken away on the road. The Flames are good for 0.48 power play goals against per game at the Saddledome. More or less, once every two games. When on the road, the team allows 0.64 per game. That can easily sink a team that scores 2.18 goals per game outside of the Saddledome.
A Team Effort
Following a hockey team is talking points. The Flames are losing because of this player or that referee making a bad call. When it comes to one of the stranger contrasting trends from the 2025-26 season, it’s everything. The forwards, the defence, the goaltenders, the coaches, the schedule; everything.
On the bright side, there is a good reason for Calgarians to buy tickets to Flames games. They get to see their team win most of their games live and, currently in 30th place, also have a high pick to look forward to in June.
Just don’t worry about those pesky road trips.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and the National Hockey League.
KEEP READING:
Flames in Trouble on Upcoming Road Trip
Tap of the Stick, Whack of the Pads: Flames Call Up William Stromgren
How Sustainable is the Calgary Flames Current Hot Streak?
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Thanks Trevor.
Another great article. So you’re saying we just need to play all 82 games at home and we’re golden.
All of the playoffs in Calgary would be preferable as well.