Points in the standings are at a premium right now for the Calgary Flames, who are attempting to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2022.
Right now, they're in the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference and found themselves facing a daunting challenge in the Colorado Avalanche, who had gotten points in seven straight games, on Friday night.
Ultimately, it was the Avalanche preventing the Flames from moving up in the standings with a damaging 4-2 win at Scotiabank Saddledome and improving to 40-24-3; the Flames are now 30-24-11.
The Avalanche grabbed the advantage just past the midway point of the first period thanks to a goal from Ryan Lindgren, his third of the season.
There wasn't much scoring to speak of in the game's middle frame until Colorado's Parker Kelly scored for the sixth time this season, giving the Avalanche a 2-0 lead heading into the second intermission.
The Flames managed to halve the Avalanche lead just minutes into the third, as Blake Coleman's 13th goal gave the team life and a badly-needed spark. However, it was short lived as Colorado restored the two-goal lead less than two minutes later thanks to Kelly's second goal of the game.
Jonathan Huberdeau continued his renaissance season for the Flames, notching his 25th goal and cutting the lead back to a single tally late in the third period. But despite a late push from Calgary with goaltender Dustin Wolf on the bench for a sixth skater, they weren't able to find the equalizer.
The Avalanche sealed the victory with an empty net goal from Valeri Nichushkin, his 16th.
3 least impressive Calgary Flames players from 4-2 loss to Colorado Avalanche
#1. MacKenzie Weegar
It was a brutal mistake by the veteran Flames blue liner that had a key role in the game's outcome.
Just minutes after the Flames fought their way back into the game with Coleman's goal, the Avalanche took advantage of a turnover from Weegar that culminated in their third goal of the night.
Weegar finished with a -1 rating and was credited with three giveaways, including the fateful error that directly led to Colorado's game-winning goal.
#2. Yegor Sharangovich
Once again, one of Calgary's top offensive weapons failed to make a difference with an extremely valuable pair of points up for grabs.
He finished with zero points, and even failed to register a single shot on goal; he also finished with a -1 rating.
#3. Nazem Kadri
Nowhere to be found on the scoresheet on Friday night was Kadri, who scored a highlight-reel goal in Calgary's last game against the Canucks but was silenced against the Avalanche.
He had no points and finished with a -2 rating.
The Calgary Flames will look to bounce back when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs next at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.
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