The Calgary Flames came into Seattle hoping to reset after two ugly losses. Instead, they got buried early and never climbed out, falling 6-1 to the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena and dropping to 0-3-0 on the season.
Seattle had the game tilted almost immediately. At 2:22 of the first period, the Flames coughed up the puck just inside the Kraken blue line, and the sequence turned into a two-on-one the other way. Zach Whitecloud broke up the rush with a poke check, but Connor Zary couldn’t settle the loose puck, Berkly Catton did, and his shot from the slot beat Dustin Wolf for a 1-0 Seattle lead.
The next Kraken goal came off another Calgary breakdown. Brandon Montour moved the puck through the neutral zone after the Flames’ rush was stopped, and at the Calgary blue line Kevin Bahl lost his footing. That opened the door for Mackie Samoskevich to skate past him, take control, and finish with a deke past Wolf to make it 2-0.
Seattle kept pressing, and the Flames couldn’t cleanly handle the puck in their own end. Adam Klapka was unable to slow Chandler Stephenson through the neutral zone, which pulled Yan Kuznetsov and Simon Nemec toward the puck. That left Bobby McMann sneaking up the far side, where he took a pass from Stephenson, beat Nemec to the spot and snapped one top corner for a 3-0 Kraken lead.
Calgary did have a power play later in the opening period and moved the puck well enough to create some looks, but nothing went in. The Flames actually led the shot count 11-8 after 20 minutes, but the scoreboard told the real story.
The second period started a little more calmly, with Calgary spending much of the early going trying to generate something while Seattle was content to defend and bleed time. But midway through the frame, the Kraken struck again. Catton fed Shane Wright in the slot, and Wright-despite Zach Whitecloud being on him-fired a blind low backhand through Whitecloud’s skates and past Wolf for a 4-0 edge.
Then, in the final minute of the second, another Calgary turnover turned into another Seattle finish. The Flames gave the puck away in the offensive zone, the Kraken moved quickly the other way, and a couple of sharp passes set up Samoskevich for a clean look from the face-off dot to Wolf’s left. His wrister beat Wolf cleanly and pushed the lead to 5-0.
Calgary finally got on the board late in the third on the power play. The puck movement was crisp, and Matvei Gridin sent a hard pass from the wall toward the net front, where Morgan Frost redirected it past Joey Daccord to make it 5-1.
But even that moment barely had time to breathe. As the arena was announcing the Flames’ goal, Seattle came right back, worked the puck around in the Calgary zone and got a slot shot from Jordan Eberle past Wolf to restore the six-goal cushion.
The Flames finished with another loss that looked a lot like the ones before it: not total chaos, but enough mistakes at the wrong moments to let everything unravel. Their puck management was shaky, their defensive coverage broke down repeatedly, and Seattle’s pace exposed them when the game opened up. Calgary was scrambly as a five-man unit, and the Kraken made them pay.
Wolf also had a rough night. He saw plenty of quality chances, just as he did in the opener, but Calgary needed a stop early to settle things down and didn’t get it. He allowed three goals on the first six shots he faced.
Matt Coronato stood out for the Flames in a positive way, firing several shots and creating a few dangerous looks while also making some solid defensive plays. Zayne Parekh also drew attention with how dynamic he looked with the puck.
The game was effectively on its way to being decided by 7:40 of the first period, when Calgary was already down 3-0.
The Flames’ lineup against Vancouver featured Yegor Sharangovich, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato on the top line; Matvei Gridin, Mikael Backlund and Joel Farabee; Sam Honzek, Ryan Strome and Connor Zary; and Maxim Tsyplakov, Martin Pospisil and Adam Klapka. On the blue line, it was Kevin Bahl with Zach Whitecloud, Jake Middleton with Zayne Parekh, and Yan Kuznetsov with Simon Nemec.
Dustin Wolf started in net with Devin Cooley backing him up. Joel Hanley, Brennan Othmann and Brayden Pachal were healthy scratches, and Jonathan Huberdeau missed the game with an injury.
It was also the 500th career game for Joel Farabee.
The Flames are back home next, where they’ll host the Colorado Avalanche at the Saddledome on Thursday night.
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Calgary did get on the board in the third period on a power-play redirection from Morgan Frost, but by then the damage was done and the frustration was already obvious. The more troubling part for the Flames is how quickly this matchup has tilted in Seattles favor, with the Kraken outscoring them 12-2 in the first two regular-season meetings and leaving Calgary with an early problem it knows too well. [Read more 🡒]
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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 🡒]