The Calgary Flames are back on home ice Thursday night looking for something they haven’t found yet: a point. After three games in four nights to open the 2026-27 regular season, Calgary sits at 0-3-0 and will try to stop the skid against a Colorado Avalanche team that arrives in town with plenty of firepower and a 2-1-0 record.
It’s a tough assignment, even with Colorado playing the second half of a back-to-back after losing 3-2 in Winnipeg on Wednesday. The Avalanche travel to Calgary with the reputation of a team that can run right through a game when it gets rolling, and the Flames are coming in needing a much cleaner effort than what they’ve shown so far.
Calgary’s projected forward groups feature Matvei Gridin with Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato on the top line, followed by Yegor Sharangovich, Mikael Backlund and Joel Farabee; Sam Honzek, Martin Pospisil and Ryan Strome; and Aydar Suniev, Jonathan Castagna and Adam Klapka. On defense, the expected pairings are Kevin Bahl with Zach Whitecloud, Jake Middleton with Zayne Parekh, and Yan Kuznetsov with Simon Nemec.
Dustin Wolf is projected to start in goal, with Devin Cooley backing him up. Joel Hanley, Brennan Othmann and Maxim Tsyplakov are listed as the anticipated extra healthy bodies, and Jonathan Castagna is expected to make his NHL debut.
Through three games, the Flames have gotten their goals from Ryan Strome, Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost. The special teams have been a bright spot, with Calgary outscoring opponents 2-1 there.
But at five-on-five, the numbers have been brutal: the Flames have been outscored 13-1, and 15-1 at even strength. That gap explains the early-season frustration.
The Avalanche come in with their own projected lineup built around Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas up front, with Gabriel Landeskog, Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri on the second line. Jaden Schwartz, Fedor Svechkov and T.J.
Hughes make up the third unit, while Parker Kelly, Nicolas Roy and Zachary L’Heureux round out the forwards. On defense, Colorado is expected to go with Devon Toews and Cale Makar, Brett Kulak and Sam Malinski, and Josh Manson and Brent Burns.
Scott Wedgewood is projected to start for Colorado, with Mackenzie Blackwood backing him up after starting in Winnipeg. Noah Juulsen was the Avalanche’s lone healthy extra in that game, and it remains to be seen whether he draws in for the back-to-back.
Colorado has been one of the league’s most dangerous teams over the past several seasons, and Calgary has had a hard time getting anything going against them. Over the last three seasons, the Flames are 1-8-0 against the Avalanche.
Calgary’s only win in that stretch came on Mar. 31, 2025, in a shootout, and the Flames have not beaten Colorado in regulation since Oct. 13, 2022.
The Flames will also be without Jonathan Huberdeau, while the Avalanche are missing Logan O’Connor.
This is the first meeting between the teams this season. They’ll see each other again on Halloween in Denver, and then once more in Calgary on Apr. 8 in the second-last regular season game in Saddledome history.
In Other News...
Flames Shake Up Lineup As Pressure Builds Before Avalanche Test
The Flames are making a noticeable set of changes as they head into a matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, reworking both their forward group and defensive pairings in search of a cleaner look. Among the most telling moves is the arrival of Aydar Suniev and Jonathan Castagna from the AHL, a pair of recalls that gives Calgary a fresh fourth-line option and adds a little more intrigue to how the bottom half of the lineup will be deployed.
Calgary is also turning to Devin Cooley in goal for the Avalanche test, a decision that puts added attention on a game already carrying some weight as the pressure builds. With middle-six forwards shuffled around and the back end adjusted as well, the Flames are clearly trying to find a combination that can steady things against one of the leagues tougher opponents. The question now is whether those changes give them enough structure to hang with Colorado. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Ugly Start Could Force Craig Conroy Into His Next Move
The early going has been rough enough in Calgary that the Flames are already looking at ways to jolt a flat offense before the season can really get away from them. After opening with a significant scoring deficit and a string of underwhelming performances, management has begun weighing roster changes, with Craig Conroy facing an increasingly familiar kind of early-season pressure: decide whether the answer is already in the room or whether help has to come from outside.
Patrik Laine is one of the names on the board, and the Flames are also in conversation with other veteran forwards who could add some finishing touch to a lineup that has struggled to create it. The sense around the team is that Conroy may not wait long if the current group does not start to produce, with a short-term addition looming as a real possibility if Calgarys internal options fail to spark the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Rumors Suddenly Point To A Much More Realistic Upgrade
The trade chatter around Detroit has started to drift away from the more sensational names and toward a possibility that feels far more grounded. Pierre LeBrun has downplayed the speculation tying Dylan Larkin to Florida, especially with Aleksander Barkov expected back in six to eight weeks, and that has shifted some of the focus to other options around the league. Among the clubs keeping an eye on the market are the Flames and Red Wings, both of whom have shown interest in Patrik Laine as they look for ways to add offense without paying the price that comes with a true blockbuster.
Laine remains unsigned despite drawing contact from multiple teams, which keeps the door open for a move if the right situation emerges. For Calgary, the appeal is obvious, but the timing matters just as much as the talent, with the organization watching how its younger players perform before deciding how aggressive to get. Around the league, there is also a separate goaltending thread involving Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets, but for the Flames the bigger question is whether this becomes the kind of measured upgrade that fits their timeline. [Read more 🡒]