The Calgary Flames finally produced their best effort of the young season Saturday. They also found the most painful way yet to lose.
A short-handed goal by Ryan Poehling at 5:35 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie and sent the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-2 win at Scotiabank Saddledome, leaving Calgary 0-5-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The Flames did many things they have asked themselves to do: played with pace, generated chances, answered deficits and entered the final period even. What they could not do was survive one decisive mistake on the power play.
“I think we were definitely better tonight,” Matt Coronato said to reporters. “We’ve had good stretches, but it’s still about playing the full 60. We’ve got to be better in the third.”
Calgary received three power plays before the midway mark of the final period and converted none. On the second opportunity, Poehling intercepted an offensive-zone turnover, raced in alone, slid the puck beneath Dustin Wolf, then crashed hard into the net.
It was a goal that captured the difference. Anaheim punished an opening. Calgary watched an opportunity disappear. The Ducks did not play flawless hockey but left with their second straight win and a 4-1-0 record. The Flames remained the NHL’s only team without a point.
“I think every game we’ve played this year, we’ve slowly been getting better, and that’s the most important thing,” coach Ryan Huska said to reporters.
Huska called it Calgary’s best game to date, and there was evidence. The Flames outshot the Ducks 29-28 and controlled long stretches. Coronato recorded two assists, Wolf stopped 24 shots and Morgan Frost scored his second goal of the season.
Anaheim opened the scoring at 10:02 of the first period when Jackson LaCombe converted a power play after Judd Caulfield fanned on a pass from Leo Carlsson. LaCombe gathered the loose puck and beat Wolf.
Frost answered at 15:03, skating behind LaCombe, taking a pass from Coronato and snapping a shot inside the far post. Calgary reached the intermission level and looked capable of turning its improved play into a first victory.
Frank Vatrano restored Anaheim’s lead at 19:15 of the second, redirecting a Noah Warren point shot. The Flames appeared to have equalized earlier, but Yan Kuznetsov’s goal was erased after a review determined Joel Farabee was offside.
Aydar Suniev then supplied the bright spot. At 17:54, the rookie took Coronato’s feed from behind the net and squeezed a sharp-angle shot past Ville Husso for his first NHL goal and a 2-2 tie.
“I saw that opening there, just trying to shoot and it went in,” Suniev said to reporters. “It’s great. You dream about it, scoring your first goal, and here it is. Thanks, Matty, for that pass. But yeah, I was so happy for that.”
Suniev’s milestone should have been a launching point. Instead, the Flames went 0-for-3 on the third-period power play and gave up the winning goal while holding the man advantage. Nikita Nesterenko added insurance at 17:03, jamming the puck through a goal-mouth scramble.
The 0-5-0 start is not merely slow. It is unprecedented for an organization that began in Atlanta in 1972-73. Calgary’s previous worst opening stretches were four straight losses, recorded four times, most recently in 2019-20.
That history makes talk of progress difficult to sell. Huska can reasonably point to better structure, a competitive effort and a young player scoring a memorable goal. But the results have hardened into zero points through five games. No team can live forever on encouraging signs.
“We’ve got to get on the right track here,” Coronato said of urgency.
Calgary had that path Saturday and saw it turn into a short-handed breakaway.
It is the cruel part of hockey. Playing better does not erase the standings. Calgary leaves its opening five without a win or loser point and now must prevent confidence from cracking under the weight of history.
The Flames’ next test comes Tuesday in an Anaheim rematch against the same opponent that has now won two straight. That quick turnaround offers a chance to prove Saturday’s improvement was real rather than another night remembered for one mistake.
Huska said an improved process should eventually produce points. The Flames need “eventually” to arrive quickly. The power play has to finish chances, third-period execution has to sharpen and the players have to turn effort into a result.
Against the Ducks, Calgary was close enough to feel victory and far enough to remain empty. Poehling’s short-handed winner was not just another goal against. It was a snapshot of the season so far: promise followed by punishment and improvement without reward.
The Flames can build from Saturday, as Huska said, but the foundation cannot become a hiding place. At 0-5-0, Calgary has reached the point where moral victories deepen frustration. The best game of the season still ended the same way: another loss, another lesson and a night waiting for standings points that never came again.
