For the second straight game, the Calgary Flames have fallen in a close battle on the road with special teams taking the forefront of the conversation.

Against the Ottawa Senators, the Flames were in the penalty box for 20 minutes of the game. The Senators went 2-for-9 on the man-advantage, giving them plenty of opportunities to close out a game in what became a one-goal finish after a couple of late goals by the visitors.

In their most recent showing, the Flames took the Detroit Red Wings to overtime. They came out with the loss, but after going down 1-0 to an Alex DeBrincat goal on the power-play, the result isn’t as bad as it could have been.

Connor Zary — the Flames goal-scorer — mentioned the point gained in the standings, but also pointed out that the end goal should always be a win and there aren’t (or at least there shouldn’t be) any moral victories when speaking to media following the game (via Flames TV).

“Yeah, obviously a tough way to end a game,” Zary said. “You never want to lose in overtime or go on the kill in overtime and lose it that way. So it sucks. Obviously, the bright spot is getting one point, but I think all of us in this room want to win games. Whether that’s in overtime or in the first 60, I think we’ve got to pride ourselves in doing that.”

The point of contention with the referees for the second game in a row came in the overtime period.

After Zary scored to knot the game late in the third period (also on the power-play), the Flames forced overtime. The young Canadian has been a major bright spot through the early part of the 2024-25 campaign. He had a stretch of 10 games where he only recorded one point, but he has found his way back on track with a point in his last four games, including the goal against Detroit.

“I think any time you score, it feels good, and especially in those situations — late in the game to tie it up — it feels good,” Zary said. “I think for me, it’s just keep doing the right things, keep playing how I’m playing, and keep plugging away that way, and they’ll fall. I’ve just got to keep creating chances and moving my feet. That’s the way my game has to be all the time. [I have to] be consistent that way and keep finding the back of the net and really bearing down on those chances.”

Everything was going well in the extra period, but then the Flames were whistled for a call many found to be controversial.

Zary had what was one of the more adamant reactions to the call during the game, just as many fans had as well.

“It’s a tough one,” Zary said. “At the end of the day, you’re not going to argue it. A call is a call, and they decided to call that, and we live with it. Like I said, we just got to regroup and look forward to the next game. You just hate to lose.”

There are two ways to look at the penalty.

First, it’s not your traditional too many men call where the puck is by the bench and chaos ensues with multiple changing players. Instead, it was because the Flames tried to cheat on their change and players left the bench early.

In the overtime of a game that had its only two goals scored on the power-play, it’s hard to justify that call. However, when looking at the replay and seeing where MacKenzie Weegar was when his man jumped off the bench, it’s hard to say the referees got it wrong.

Nonetheless, it’s a frustrating way for another close road game to end for the Flames. A mental lapse like that cannot happen. Even if you don’t agree with the nature of the call, it’s still *technically* too many men, making it an unforced error and one that cost them a valuable point in the standings.

As much as the technicality being called in that moment might be right is, the Flames cannot seem to catch a break with penalties and, most importantly, it costing them games. Staying out of the box will be critical for the rest of back half of this road trip.

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