The Calgary Flames are heading into the first full week of November with a simple assignment: find some consistency before the schedule starts asking harder questions.
That task begins after a split of sorts that told the whole story of their season so far. Calgary rolled past the Seattle Kraken 6-2 on Oct. 30, then ran into a much steeper challenge and dropped a 5-2 decision to the Colorado Avalanche on Halloween. The Flames sit at 6-8-0 as November begins, tucked in the lower half of the Pacific Division and still trying to turn flashes of offense into something more dependable.
There have been bright spots. Matvei Gridin has given Calgary a real boost, and Joel Farabee has been right there with him, supplying steady production and energy.
Farabee’s four-point night against Seattle stood out, and the Flames also got help from Morgan Frost and other forwards. That kind of spread-out scoring matters, because it shows Calgary doesn’t need one line to do all the heavy lifting.
But Colorado exposed the other side of the equation. The Flames fell behind by four goals before Farabee and Martin Pospisil helped make the final score look a little less harsh.
Against a team that can punish mistakes the way the Avalanche do, digging out of that kind of hole is a tough ask. Calgary needs a cleaner five-on-five game, fewer defensive lapses and a better ability to make opponents earn every chance they get.
The injury situation only adds to the challenge. Devin Cooley is dealing with a lower-body injury and has been listed week-to-week, which puts more pressure on Calgary’s remaining goaltenders. The club recalled Arsenii Sergeev, who got into action against Colorado, and how the Flames handle the crease this week will be worth watching closely with three road games and limited time to reset.
Jonathan Huberdeau is still out with a hip injury, removing another experienced offensive piece from the lineup. Sam Honzek is also sidelined with an undisclosed injury after missing multiple games, and Brennan Othmann has been dealing with an upper-body injury and was listed as day-to-day in the latest available reporting.
Brennan Othmann is out with an upper-body injury until at least Nov. 2.
That makes the next four games a real test of depth. Calgary opens in San Jose against the Sharks on Nov. 2, then heads to Seattle on Nov.
- After that, the Flames return home for games against the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 6 and the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov.
The first two matchups carry extra weight because they come against divisional opponents. Calgary enters the week with a 2-6-0 record against Pacific Division teams, and that number has to improve if the Flames want to stay in the mix as the season unfolds.
The Seattle game also gives them a chance to answer the 6-2 win they already posted over the Kraken at home. Doing it again on the road would say a lot about whether that performance was a one-off or something more repeatable.
Then comes the home stand. Anaheim and Philadelphia give Calgary a chance to settle in at the Scotiabank Saddledome and maybe build a little momentum, but the workload is real: four games in seven days. Energy management, discipline and avoiding costly penalties will matter just as much as the scoring chances.
Here’s the week ahead for the Flames:
Monday, Nov. 2 - at San Jose Sharks, 9:00 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Nov. 4 - at Seattle Kraken, 10:00 p.m. ET
Friday, Nov. 6 - vs. Anaheim Ducks, 8:00 p.m.
ET
Sunday, Nov. 8 - vs.
Philadelphia Flyers, 7:00 p.m. ET
Calgary has shown enough offense to keep things interesting. Now the question is whether the Flames can pair that with better structure, steadier goaltending and a full 60 minutes of work.
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Instead, the issues have shown up in the areas that usually decide games in the NHL. San Jose has struggled defensively and has allowed the most high-danger chances in the league, a hard number to ignore for a team trying to establish an identity. The Sharks are also managing injuries to Alexander Wennberg and Igor Chernyshov, which only adds to the challenge as Warsofsky keeps pressing for a group that can show who it really is night after night. [Read more 🡒]