The five worst starts in Flames history

The Calgary Flames are off to a less-than-stellar start to the 2016-17 season. They have one win through their first six games and the next four games look tough: Chicago, St. Louis, Ottawa and Washington.

How does the Flames’ stumble out of the starting blocks compare with some historical opening skids?

In the first full season since their first lockout, the Flames were really bad in their first 10 games. They went 0-7-3, though they made it to overtime four times (losing once and tying thrice). Their most painful loss was the one that came immediately before their first win: a 7-2 shellacking at the hands of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

The Flames finished 34-37-11 and made the playoffs.

It took the Flames seven tries to get their first win (in their fourth overtime game in a row) and 12 games to win twice. They opened 1-7-2 and finished 15 games below .500, missing the post-season by a country mile. This was the single worst season, points-wise, in franchise history.

Ah, memories. The Flames were just awful in their own end and began 2-7-1. In an odd quirk, both of their wins came in overtime. They had just two one-goal losses during this span and most of their games were not close for their duration. They missed the playoffs.

These Flames went 2-6-2 to start. Aside from a 7-1 loss to St. Louis, none of their losses were utter thumpings. As with 2015-16, both of their wins came in overtime. They missed the playoffs.

In their second season in Calgary, the Flames began the year with a tie with Vancouver and a win over St. Louis. Then they lost five straight, finally winning again with a 7-3 drubbing of the Hartford Whalers. Much like 1999-2000, this was a 2-6-2 start, but this one was arguably better because none of the losses were complete laughers and they at least clobbered the Whalers during that span. They ended up making the playoffs.