When it rains, it pours.
Wednesday night’s snoozing 3-1 showdown with the Utah Mammoth capped of the Calgary Flames fourth consecutive regulation loss in the first five games of the 2025-26 regular season.
There are explanations.
Five games in seven nights, including two back-to-backs, is as condensed as the schedule is allowed to be per the CBA.
Luck factored in. Net-front scrambles with just a single goal deficit in all four losses. Eichel’s game-winner featured some questionable officiating. The refs ignoring a high sticking infraction and giving Nazem Kadri a sole penalty for hooking was a turning point in the loss to St. Louis.
Explanations, excuses; none of it matters as memory fades and a 1-4-0 record stands in stone. The Flames next play the Golden Knights in Vegas—another tough one.
A couple of theories.
1.) The Flames emerge from October a battle-hardened crew of seasoned NHL veterans.
2.) This is the group that we’ll see for the majority of the year. The team starts on the wrong foot and it cascades into a bottom-5 finish.
Based on last year, the wheels falling off seems unlikely, but with an aging group of eight veterans over thirty, there is still some ambiguity there.
Absentdeau
It’s difficult to quantify Jonathan Huberdeau’s absence through Calgary’s first five games. Surely the team could have used him over this stretch.
On the other hand, he hadn’t really found his game before he got hurt charging the net near the end of their 8-1 loss to Vancouver. The third overall pick in 2011 picked up a secondary assist in two games and looked sluggish in transition.
Per Ryan Pike, Huberdeau resumed skating with the team prior to their 4-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
Sharangetgoingalready
A single assist and a -2 even strength goal differential through five games for Yegor Sharangovich is troubling. The 27 year old Belarusian is avoiding contact and generally playing passenger hockey. Not idea for the fourth-highest paid ($5,750,000 AAV until July 1, 2030) forward on the roster.
A very similar start last year. A goal and -3 in his first five games of the 2024-25 regular season.
Not Great
Joel Hanley is off to a rough start. Outscored 0-6 at even strength and 0-9 at all strengths. His game has looked choppy where it usually quite fluid.
The 34 year old from Keswick, Ontario played a season-low 14:36 on Wednesday night. If his numbers keep going down, who gets his minutes?
Chewy
19 year old Zayne Parekh nearly scored his first goal of the season against the Mammoth.
It simply seems like the ninth overall selection at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft has been taken out of the oven a bit too early. He looks better than Hanley, Jake Bean, and Daniil Miromanov, but isn’t playing to his potential.
Perhaps a nagging injury factors in as well. Parekh hasn’t been on the ice for a Calgary goal after five games and has been on the ice for three goals against including this one.
JJ Peterka is a certified burner. No shame in losing that race.
A couple of days of rest and then Vegas. Where the Flames are 2-9-2 since the Golden Knights joined the league through expansion. See you then.
Stats courtesy of Cap Wages, Natural Stat Trick and the National Hockey League.
KEEP READING:
Neufeld: 7 Bold Predictions Heading into the New Season
9 Reasons the Calgary Flames Struggled Last Season
Remarkable Turnaround: How the Flames PK went from 30th to 1st
Five Former Flames Head Coaches: Where are they now?
Follow on X: @Trevor_Neufeld
Looking for discussion? Check out our forums section and weigh in on what’s happening around the NHL!
A couple of days of rest in Vegas……was that sarcasm?
They have had a couple periods where they have outworked the other, but they cannot score when they have the momentum. Puckluck is a bitch.
Probably best to leave them in Utah!
Anyone see Kadri?
At least Andersson scored.
That reffing was pretty one sided.
Almost time for a players only meeting.
McKenna’s going to look good in red.