The Calgary Flames’ rough opening to the 2026-27 season got rougher on Sunday night.
They went into Climate Pledge Arena looking for a reset after losing to Seattle in the home opener. Instead, the same problems showed up again, and the Kraken rolled to a 6-1 win that left Calgary 0-3 to start the year.
Seattle struck almost immediately. Just 2:22 into the game, Berkly Catton pounced on a turnover in the slot after the Flames couldn’t handle the puck cleanly in their own end. Catton stepped in and beat Dustin Wolf high on the glove side for the first goal.
The Kraken kept cashing in on Calgary’s mistakes. At 8:34, Jared McCann jumped on another defensive breakdown, chipped the puck past Simon Nemec, and went in alone on Wolf before lifting a shot over the Flames goalie to make it 3-0.
The second period brought more of the same. At 11:58, Catton drove down the right side, pulled up, and found Shane Wright trailing the play. Wright received the pass on his backhand, spun, and fired through the legs of Zach Whitecloud, with the puck eventually slipping past Wolf.
Seattle added one more before the period ended. With 25.1 seconds left, Samoskevich finished a cross-ice feed from Matty Beniers by lifting the puck over Wolf for his second goal of the night and the first two-goal game of his NHL career.
Calgary did show a little more push in the third. The Flames spent more time in the offensive zone and created a few better looks, but Joey Daccord turned them away.
The breakthrough finally came at 14:25 on the power play. Morgan Frost took a hard pass from Matvei Gridin and redirected it past Daccord to get Calgary on the board.
Any lift from that goal disappeared fast. Just 39 seconds later, Seattle answered with a tic-tac-toe sequence that ended with Jordan Eberle one-timing the puck past Wolf to push the lead back to five.
When it was over, the Kraken had another convincing win over Calgary.
The Flames’ defensive issues were the biggest story again. They gave up odd-man rushes, didn’t win enough loose pucks, and weren’t sharp enough in their own zone. Seattle kept turning those mistakes into quality chances all night.
Calgary did get pucks to the net, but Seattle repeatedly got in the way. The Kraken blocked 22 shots on Sunday after blocking 20 in the Flames’ 6-1 season-opening loss. The Flames were able to work stretches of pressure, but too many attempts never made it through traffic.
And this has quickly become a pattern Calgary does not want to see continue. Seattle won both preseason meetings and has now taken both regular-season games by lopsided scores, outscoring the Flames 12-2 in those two games.
There’s a long season ahead, but right now the Flames are stuck searching for their first win while trying to clean up the details that keep burying them early.
In Other News...
Flames Third Straight Loss Raised An Early Concern Fans Cant Ignore
The early road trip keeps getting tougher for Calgary, and the latest stop in Seattle only sharpened the concern around how this group is starting the season. In the Krakens home opener, the Flames were beaten 6-1 as Seattle controlled the game from the outset, putting together a fast start and then keeping Calgary on the back foot the rest of the night.
What stood out most was how often the Flames were chasing the puck and losing the defensive details that usually keep a game manageable. Their only offense came on a third-period power play, a brief spark in a night that otherwise reinforced the same problem: too many breakdowns, not enough clean exits, and a three-game skid that already feels bigger than the calendar says it should. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Trade Buzz Could Quietly Matter To The Flames Soon
Trade chatter in Edmonton has started to pick up, and it could matter to the Flames more than it seems at first glance. Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer floated the idea that the Oilers might act before their game against the Anaheim Ducks, while Sportsnets Elliotte Friedman reported the club has been exploring options to shake up the roster mix as it deals with a rash of forward injuries.
For Calgary, any movement across the provincial divide is worth watching closely because it can alter the balance of the Battle of Alberta, even if only in a subtle way. The talk so far points to Edmonton weighing depth pieces rather than anything dramatic, and while no move has been announced, the possibility of a swap before the lineup gets healthier again gives the Flames another reason to keep an eye on what their rivals do next. [Read more 🡒]
Connor Zary Just Became A Tough Early Test For The Flames
The early days of the 2026-27 season have already put the Flames in a tricky spot with Connor Zary. A former first-round pick who was supposed to be part of the organizations longer-term answer, Zary found himself scratched in Game 2 after opening with two rough outings, a jarring development for a player whose fit in Calgary has already felt uneasy at times.
Brayden Pachal was also caught up in the move, with the Flames placing both players on waivers as the club continues to lean toward a younger look. For Calgary, the decision is less about one bad week than the broader question of how quickly this roster can sort out its identity, and whether Zary can still become part of it after a rocky stretch with the team. [Read more 🡒]
