The Philadelphia Flyers have a surprisingly big place in Calgary Flames history, and Sunday night’s game at the Scotiabank Saddledome will be the last time the two teams meet there.
That matters because this isn’t just another Eastern Conference visitor passing through. The Flyers were there at the very beginning of the Flames’ playoff story, and they were also on the other side of one of the franchise’s first great spring breakthroughs.
Back in 1974, the Atlanta Flames’ first playoff series ended in a sweep at the hands of Philadelphia. The NHL was a 16-team league then, and Atlanta, in its second season, finished fourth in the West Division before drawing the Flyers, who had won the division.
The results were one-sided from the start: 4-1, 5-1, 4-1 and 4-3. Atlanta never led in the first three games, and in Game 4 it let a 3-0 advantage slip away before Dave Schultz ended it in overtime.
Philadelphia went on to win the Stanley Cup that season.
The Flames’ move from Atlanta to Calgary in May 1980 created another odd wrinkle. The league didn’t have time to realign the divisions or reshape the 1980-81 schedule, so Calgary stayed in the Patrick Division and kept seeing the old Atlanta rivals on the calendar, including Washington, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia.
That setup led to a rematch in the 1981 playoffs, and this time the Flames got the upper hand. Calgary had already picked up its first-ever series win by sweeping Chicago in a best-of-five preliminary round, then ran into the Flyers in its first best-of-seven series.
The Flames dropped Game 1 without scoring, then won the next three by one goal each to put Philadelphia on the ropes. The Flyers forced a seventh game, but Calgary finished the job with a 4-1 win at the Spectrum.
Guy Chouinard paced the Flames with nine points in the series, while Willi Plett piled up 61 penalty minutes. His 31 PIM in Game 5 stood as a playoff franchise record until Deryk Engelland topped it in that 2015 game when he fought two Vancouver Canucks at once and was handed 42 PIMs.
Only one player from the 1974 team was still around for that 1981 series: Eric Vail, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. He was held without a point through the first six games and sat out Game 7 in favor of Bert Wilson.
Calgary eventually fell to the Minnesota North Stars in the third round, but that spring still marked a major step forward for the franchise. For a team that had only recently arrived in Calgary, the 1981 run helped turn the Flames into something the city could fully embrace. And even if the rivalry with Philadelphia feels distant now, the Flyers remain tied to one of the most important chapters in Flames history.
In Other News...
Devin Cooley Is Giving Flames Fans A New Subplot To Watch
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Cooley said he appreciated the shoutout and noted that the response has not stopped there, with other goalies also reaching out since the remarks went viral. He has backed up the attention with solid play this season, and now there is at least a chance the story gets another chapter if he and Murashov cross paths when the Flames and Penguins meet again. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Suddenly Have A Blue Line Decision They Can't Rush
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Craig Conroy now has to weigh whether the answer comes from a young defenseman already in the system or from a short-term addition that actually fits the timeline. The temptation to patch the hole is obvious, but the Flames do not sound inclined to make a trade just for the sake of filling space, which leaves the next step on defense very much unresolved as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Blue Line Loss Leaves Craig Conroy Facing A Tough Choice
Kevin Bahls absence has left the Flames with a hole on the blue line that is hard to ignore, and it has put Craig Conroy in a spot every general manager knows well: address the need now, or trust the group already in the room. Bahl had become a meaningful part of Calgarys defensive mix, so losing him for the rest of the season changes the shape of the back end and forces the club to weigh its options with a little more urgency than it would have liked.
What makes this decision tricky is the kind of move Calgary is likely to consider. The market does not always hand out clean fixes, and the Flames have to think about more than just plugging a gap for a few weeks. A young defender or a shorter-term addition could make more sense than a pure rental, but whichever direction Conroy chooses, the loss of Bahl has turned a manageable situation into one that now demands a careful answer. [Read more 🡒]