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Notes from last game: Arsenii Sergeev placed in a tough spot in Flames’ 5-2 defeat against Avalanche

Photo credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

By Cynthia Ryley Delaney

Nov 2, 2026, 15:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 2, 2026, 13:22 EST

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It’s been a while since we saw a performance that bad by the Calgary Flames.

On Saturday evening, the Flames took on the Colorado Avalanche for the second time this season, falling 5-2 to move their season record to 6-8-0. It was by far their worst performance in over two weeks, as the last time they played as poorly was a match-up against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 15.

Let’s take a look at the positives, the negatives, and other notes from this game.

The positives

It’s hard to fault rookie netminder Arsenii Sergeev for this loss. Yes, he allowed five goals on 33 shots for an .848 save percentage, but the Avalanche finished the game with 4.58 expected goals, giving Sergeev a Goals Saved Above Expected of just -0.42 according to Hockeystats.

He made a few big stops, and while he didn’t necessarily give the Flames a chance to win, he kept this game respectable, as the Avalanche could have easily scored more than seven goals. The Flames didn’t do him any favours either. Not only was this a textbook schedule loss, but the Flames’ defence just wasn’t very good on Saturday evening.

He should’ve had the second goal, but the first goal allowed was just a terrific shot, and the third goal against was because of poor defence. It may be the last chance we get to see Sergeev for a while, as the Flames’ next back-to-back is at the end of November.

While the Flames were shelled, not too surprising given the competition and being on the second night of a back-to-back, they were some bright spots offensively.

Aydar Suniev had a nice zone entry midway through the second and set up Kevin Bahl for a one-timer, shortly after the Flames’ first goal. Late in the first, the Flames had a chance to head in to the first intermission noted up at one, but Matt Coronato was robbed by Mackenzie Blackwood on the two-on-one.

Robert Munnich

@Robert_Munnich

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Matt Coronato is robbed by Mackenzie Blackwood. 🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames

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2:47 AM · Nov 1, 2026

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Who knows what would’ve happened had either of these went in?

Joel Farabee’s goal wasn’t pretty, but he continued his hot streak as he opened the scoring for the Flames. Martin Pospíšil also scored his third of the season early in the first period to cut the Avalanche lead in half. Both of these goals were scored thanks to a dogged forecheck, the first by Mikael Backlund and the second thanks to Ryan Strome.

Zayne Parekh picked up an assist on Pospíšil’s goal, his fourth assist and fifth point of the season. It was also his first even strength point of the season, as the assist he was credited with in the win over the Seattle Kraken on Friday was taken away.

The right-shot defenceman was one of eight Flames who finished with an expected goal share above 60 percent. He, Matvei Gridin, Pospíšil, Jake Middleton, Farabee, Coronato, Strome, and Backlund all had an xGF% of 62.69 or higher. Bahl and Šimon Nemec each had an expected goal share above 50 percent as well.

On paper, it wasn’t that bad of a game all things considered. It just happens to be the worst thanks to how good the Flames have been playing since they snapped their five game losing streak to begin the season.

The negatives

Hockey isn’t played on paper, though. Two of the four lines were shelled in this game. The Suniev, Morgan Frost, and Yegor Sharangovich line owned just 29.77 percent of the expected goal share. Their fourth line of Maxim Tsyplakov, Jonathan Castagna, and Adam Klapka were slightly better, finishing with 40.97 percent of the expected goal share.

Tsyplakov made an error that sealed the Flames’ fate as well. With the Flames defenceman already deep in the zone, the Russian attempted to pinch and stop the puck at the Avalanche blue line. However, it bounced over his stick, leading to a two-on-one and an eventual Avalanche goal to make it 4-0.

I noted it earlier, but I didn’t like the defence on the third goal either. The blue line was given up far too easily and the slot was wide open. It was a nice move by Cale Makar to find the open Artturi Lehkonen, but this has to be improved.

Colorado Avalanche

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BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT 🚨

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3:16 AM · Nov 1, 2026

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Jake Middleton and Zach Whitecloud were a -2 in this game. Middleton went down the tunnel with an injury late in the third period, but was back on the bench in the final minute. He’s had a tough go of things this season.

The Avalanche played a disciplined game, as the Flames didn’t get an opportunity on the man-advantage. Strome took a penalty early in the second period while the Flames had some momentum, leading to the Avalanche’s lone power play goal in three attempts.

As has been the case for much of the season, the Flames struggled in the face-off dot, going just 19/51, a 37.3 face-off percentage.

There are few teams better at home than the Flames’, as they have won five of the three games they’ve played at the Saddledome this year. Road trips have been a different story, they have just one victory in five tries so far this season.

Other notes

At the end of the day, a back-to-back with travel against the 2025-26 Presidents’ Trophy Colorado Avalanche was never going to go well. There were some positives, and it was a far better game than their first meeting this season, but a 5-2 loss was to be expected.

The bad news for the Flames is that they remain on the road, travelling west to take on the San Jose Sharks on Monday at 8:00 PM MT. They’ll wrap up this three-game road trip with a game against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, their fourth match-up against the team in a little over a month.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFO Calgary, DFO Edmonton, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.

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