Flames kick off two-game swing in Utah (7:30 p.m. MT/Sportsnet 360)
Just like that, the Flames are on the road again.
And tonight in Salt Lake City, they’ll take part in their third (road) home opener in the past eight days as they make their one and only regular-season trip to Utah.
It’s another quick turnaround, and as the team left Calgary late Tuesday evening, the focus is on the next challenge.
Tuesday evening on home ice, the Flames saw a 2-0 lead slip away in a 4-2 setback to the Golden Knights, their second successive defeat by that scoreline at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman got the home side off to a roaring start with first-period tallies, but two goals from Jack Eichel helped the visitors claim two points.
“We’re just not playing complete games,” said head coach Ryan Huska following Tuesday’s defeat. “Whether it’s portions of the third period, or a portion of the second period where I thought we got away from what was giving us success earlier in the game, we changed it a bit, which I feel allowed them (Vegas) to get some of their mojo going.”
It wasn’t for lack of trying.
Rasmus Andersson had 10 shot attempts, the duo of Ryan Lomberg and Adam Klapka combined for 11 hits, and the trio of Backlund, Coleman and rookie Sam Honzek was dangerous right off the jump.
“You get a chance, and a lead, you’ve got to push down harder on their throat,” Coleman said post-game. “We pulled back, gave them some life. Good teams with good players will make you pay.”
“This one’s disappointing, but we’ve got a game tomorrow. We’re going to flush that, and try and replicate that first period for 60 minutes.”
“We’re just not playing complete games”
The Mammoth return home to the Delta Center after collecting one victory in their season-opening, three-game road swing through the Central Division.
After claiming an overtime win in Nashville Saturday, Utah dropped a 3-1 decision in Chicago in their road trip finale Monday night.
JJ Peterka – acquired in the offseason from the Buffalo Sabres – scored the lone Mammoth marker, his first in Utah silks.
“I think we played a good game defensively,” head coach Andre Tourigny told reporters following the contest. “It was the first time of the year where we really had our forecheck going, we were connected, we were on them and we made it tough on them to break out clean.
“That has to be a staple of our game, right now we need more consistency.”
Dylan Guenther leads the way offensively for Utah to this point in the season with four points (2G, 2A) in the first three games of the season, and he scored the overtime decider Saturday against the Predators.
The Mammoth received a bit of a blow to the blueline this week, though. The team announced Monday that veteran Sean Durzi will miss the next four weeks of action with an upper-body injury.
2025-26 Season Series
The Flames and Mammoth will meet three times this season, but tonight’s contest marks the only matchup in the Beehive State.
Utah will visit Calgary Dec. 6 and Apr. 12.
Rasmus Andersson and Blake Coleman each had a goal and an assist in the 2024-25 season set, while MacKenzie Weegar chipped in with a pair of helpers.
Climbing The Charts
With his goal Tuesday against the Golden Knights, Flames captain Mikael Backlund surpassed Lanny McDonald for sixth on the team’s all-time goals list.
Backlund now has 216 career tallies, and with the point, he also tied longtime defenceman Gary Suter for sixth among franchise points leaders with 564.
With 13 more goals, Backlund would move into a tie with Kent Nilsson on the franchise goal-scoring chart and in doing so, would also tie Nilsson for the most markers by a Swedish-born player in Flames franchise history.
Did You Know?
When Flames defenceman Kevin Bahl glances over at the Mammoth bench Wednesday night, he’ll spot a familiar face behind it.
That’s because Utah head coach Andre Tourigny was Bahl’s bench boss for three seasons in the OHL with the Ottawa 67s, from 2017-18 through 2019-20.
In that final campaign, Bahl was a member of the OHL’s Second All-Star Team and under Tourigny, he was selected in the second round of the 2018 by the Arizona Coyotes.
Bahl never played a game for the Coyotes, though. He was dealt to New Jersey in December of 2019 as part of a blockbuster that saw former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall land in Arizona.
After Dustin Wolf started the first four games of the regular season, it’s expected that fellow Calfornian Devin Cooley will draw in between the pipes this evening.
Cooley, who hails from the Bay Area suburb of Los Gatos, last started an NHL game at the Scotiabank Saddledome – against Wolf – in the 2023-24 season finale as a member of the San Jose Sharks.
That contest marked the first-ever NHL contest between two California-born netminders, a feat matched last Thursday night when Wolf (Gilroy) squared off against Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko (San Diego).
For Cooley, a first Flames start has been a long time coming, and it’s a chance for the 28-year-old to show what he’s made of, after he collected 21 wins and three shutouts a season ago with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.
His last NHL victory – with San Jose – was also on the road, coming in the form of a stellar, 49-save performance Apr. 11, 2024 at Seattle.
Flames – Blake Coleman
Coleman started right on time Tuesday against Vegas, earning a breakaway chance off the opening face-off before scoring his second goal of the season 12 minutes later.
But more importantly, the veteran forward has been dependable to begin the campaign.
In addition to his goal and three shots last night, Coleman played more than 90 seconds of short-handed time – impressive given the Golden Knights had only 2:43 of powerplay time on the night.
He blocked two shots Tuesday, and enters tonight’s contest eight regular-season points shy of 300 for his NHL career.
“We’re gonna flush that and try and replicate that first period for 60 minutes”
Mammoth – Dylan Guenther
The former No. 9 pick is off to a hot start as mentioned above, with four points from his first three games.
And in his first full NHL season last winter, Guenther impressed, scoring 27 goals and 60 points – nearly half of which (29) came on the powerplay.
That’s where he’s most dangerous. Even dating back to his time in the WHL with Edmonton and Seattle, Guenther made it a habit of victimizing goaltenders with a rapid release from the left-wing circle, and he’s made that special-teams form stick at the National League level.
Of his 53 career NHL goals, 26 have come on the man-advantage.