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A brief history of Calgary Flames season-opening goals

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

By Paige Siewert

Sep 30, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 30, 2026, 13:00 EDT

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The roster for the Calgary Flames always takes a slightly different shape each fall, and this fall there are some young players looking to make a statement early. What better way to make a statement than to be the first goalscorer of the year? Over the years, a variety of players have started the scoring for the team, with only one of the last five years’ first goals being scored by a current Flame. There’s a long history of season opening goals for this team, so here’s how the Flames set the tone from 2021-25.

2025

Last season, the Flames started their year on the road against the Edmonton Oilers. Rookie Matvei Gridin made an immediate impact with the season’s opening goal at 12:40 into the second period. At this point, the Flames were down 3-0 early into the game and this goal kicked off a stunning 4-3 comeback win for Calgary in the shootout. Gridin’s first as a Flame was assisted by Nazem Kadri and Matt Coronato.

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First goal vibes.

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4:03 AM · Oct 9, 2025

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2024

In 2024, the Flames kicked off their season with a road game against the Vancouver Canucks. By the halfway mark of the first period, Calgary was quickly down 3-0. At 15:49, Anthony Mantha was coming out of the box and scored on a backhanded shot off the breakaway. This was a shorthanded unassisted goal and Mantha ended up having a Gordie Howe hat trick on the night. The Flames ended up battling it out in this game and forced overtime, where Connor Zary scored the game-winning goal. The final score was 6-5 Flames.

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First as a Flame 🔥

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2:57 AM · Oct 10, 2024

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2023

The Flames started 2023 at home against the Winnipeg Jets. This time, the Flames got things going early in the game and scored the first goal of the game at 12:29 in the first period off the stick of Andrew Mangiapane. Adam Ruzicka and Noah Hanifin picked up the assists on this power play goal. Calgary ended up winning this home opener against the Jets with a 5-3 final score.

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Good bread.

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2:50 AM · Oct 12, 2023

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2022

In 2022, the Flames had quite the challenge to start the season playing host to the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado started the scoring in the first period and Calgary was able to answer back at 11:23 with a goal from Brett Ritchie. Milan Lucic and MacKenzie Weegar picked up the assists. The Flames went on to win this game 5-3 in a true underdog fashion.

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Looch with the dime, Rich with the finish.

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2:14 AM · Oct 14, 2022

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2021

Andrew Mangiapane had another season opening goal for the Flames in 2021 when the Flames kicked off their Battle of Alberta season series in Edmonton. The Flames were quickly down 3-0 in this game and Mangiapane broke the scoreless stretch for Calgary at 9:19 into the second period. Dillon Dube and Juuso Valimaki picked up the assists. The Flames were unfortunately no match for Connor McDavid in this game, as he had a hat trick and helped lead his team to a 5-2 win.

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So smooth👀

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3:56 AM · Oct 17, 2021

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Who will it be in 2026?

With everyone else on this list moved on from the Flames, Matvei Gridin is the only option to go for a repeat performance this year. And he very well could do it. Gridin has not 100% secured that opening night roster spot but considering he’s lining up on the top line at camp, it feels pretty set in stone. Gridin played with a lot of confidence in the Next Gen Prospect Game last weekend and has been open with the media about how high his expectations are for himself this year.

The Flames have started from behind in four of the five last seasons but have at least scored in the first or second period four out of the five times. The Flames have won four of the last five season openers and one of those wins still gave their opponent a point in extra time. Similarly to the logic I wrote up in my recount of the Calgary Wranglers’ season opening goals, you’d expect the first goalscorer to be one of the guys with the most ice time. Looking at guys like Matt Coronato, Morgan Frost, Matvei Gridin (who I already mentioned), Joel Farabee, Mikael Backlund or Sam Honzek. However, one of the last most memorable goals of last season came off the stick of defenceman Zayne Parekh. Will this be the first time in over five years that a blueliner starts the season scoring?