logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Beyond the Boxscore: Kraken sink Flames, douse their spirit with a cold 4-1 loss
alt
Photo credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Flash Stevens
Apr 12, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 12, 2026, 11:07 EDT
Comments
The Calgary Flames did not find enough goals in Seattle, falling by a score of 4-1 to the Kraken.
CF% – 49.33% || SCF% – 39.56%|| HDCF% – 35.19%|| xGF% – 45.05%
It’s a Team Game – I thought Seattle came out swinging pretty well for how things have been going on for them. Getting the boost from wanting to do well for a goaltender in his first career start was nice of them, it also made for more of an entertaining match-up rather than the high possibility both teams could have mailed this one in. Seattle owned the high danger chance advantage in the first and third, tying Calgary in the second with 2 a piece. The Flames themselves had clear chemistry issues – that will happen when you keep switching up the lines. That’s not a critique, just a commentary on what life is like for the Flames right now. Nobody really stood out as a star for the Flames, although I do think they put in their usual effort and made Seattle work for the win. 
Corsi King – I’m honestly starting to lose track of which wingers are currently playing with which centres, because for the last 3 games it’s changed every game, but that’s cool to me because we get to see combinations that may get more runway next season. I do wonder what level of Mikael Backlund (70.35 per cent) next season. I believe the defensive floor will always be there for him to be an everyday NHL centre, but when is the offence really going to start to dip. When that does happen he’ll still be able to provide above average 4th line minutes – I’m just wondering out loud here when the age curve will hit him. They’ve had reliable middle 6 minutes from him for over 10 years now, it’s impressive to see it still going. 
Under Pressure –
Taken By Chance – Matt Coronato (42.97 SCF% // 48.37 HDCF%) fell off that scoring pace I was hoping he would stay on. Not enough individual moments from him where he wins a battle, or a puck race, or finds some space in a way he used to. When he first came into the league one of his primary skills was the ability to get open for a shot in the attacking zone. I think some of the Flames training has taken that out of his game, I would like to see it come back. Hunter Brzustewicz (53.98 per cent // 41.40 per cent) scored what I would describe as a pretty goal. The half clapper perfectly placed under the arm as well as under the crossbar. If there is a photo from behind of his follow thorough going into the net that would make quite the sick action still to have in your house. That’s where I’m at with this season folks, talking about action shots… three more to go!
xG Breakdown –
xGF% – We had another NHL debut in Abram Wiebe (29.30 per cent). He brings quality NHL size and some darn good mobility to the team, he just needs time to get up to pace with the speed at which an NHL game is played. It’s a lot to go straight from college into the pros, and it’s good to get these guys in so they understand what level they need to get to to have success in this league regularly. How quick you have to process decisions matters. All of these games are beneficial to a group that probably has players like Wiebe, Tyson Gross (26.95 per cent), and Aydar Suniev (29.52 per cent) starting with the Wranglers next season. This is another great example of just how ready Yan Kuznetsov (52.45 per cent) was to play in the NHL this year, he had the shortest buffer period of any call-up (this season) to start contributing positive numbers to the team regularly. 
Game Flow –
Shot Heatmap –
In The Crease – The Cool Man, Devin Cooley, was not his usual self. “The Saboteur” as dubbed on Barn Burner did his part to help the Flames draft position in this one, anti-sabotage really. Instead of stealing a point or two in a Herculean effort, he instead let in some goals he should not have and then didn’t get the run support from up front to cover for that. It’s fine because with this loss the Flames can no longer (or at least it’s extremely statistically unlikely, I’m not going to check for sure) catch the Kraken. With three games to go they could still pass the Rangers for the 4th worst record, but the two points Seattle earned that puts them six up on Calgary. Oh yeah, goaltending section, er, Cooley saw 1.96 expected goals against let in 3, probably see Wolf against the Mammoth tonight at home. 
The Goals –
Flash’s 3 Stars –
1) Hunter Brzustewicz
2) Matt Coronato
3) Mikael Backlund
(Stats compiled from Naturalstattrick.com // Game Score from Hockeystatcards.com // xG and Under Pressure charts from HockeyViz.com // Game Flow and Shot Heatmap from NaturalStatTrick.com)

PRESENTED BY VIVID SEATS

Take $20 off your first Vivid Seats order of $200+ using promo code FLAMESNATION (new customers only, $200 USD minimum before taxes & fees)

Editorials

Breaking News