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The Calgary Flames are 1–0–0 for the first time since 2009–10

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
By Mike Gould
Oct 14, 2022, 00:42 EDTUpdated: Oct 14, 2022, 09:34 EDT
It’s been a very, very long time since the Calgary Flames started a season with a win.
They never did it with Johnny Gaudreau on the team. Ditto for Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk. In fact, they went the entire 2010s decade without doing it.
You have to go all the way back to Oct. 1, 2009 to find the last time the Flames started a season with a 1–0–0 record. Mark Giordano, Rene Bourque, Adam Pardy, Brandon Prust, and Dion Phaneuf scored for Calgary in a 5–3 win.
Here are the highlights from that game, in all their 240p glory:
Coincidentally, the Flames snapped their 12-year opening day losing streak with another 5–3 victory — and this time, they toppled the defending Stanley Cup champions. The win also happened to be the 700th of Darryl Sutter’s head coaching career.
As was the case back in 2009, five different Flames players scored in Thursday’s victory. Brett Ritchie got the party started for the home side in the first period, tying the game at one after Bowen Byram’s ice-breaker.
Dillon Dube and Rasmus Andersson added goals in the second period before Tyler Toffoli and Elias Lindholm struck in quick succession to open the third. Even after Nathan MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin responded for Colorado, the Flames managed to hold onto their two-goal cushion.
We’ve covered the Flames’ epic opening day losing streak at length before. Now that it’s over, we’ll never mention it again.
Breaking News
- Flames Game Day 29: Back at home to face the Wild (7pm MT, SN1)
- The Wranglers are nearly done their mammoth road trip
- Recap: Justin Kirkland gave the Wranglers a chance to win on Wednesday but they fall in a shootout
- A pair of Flames college prospects won weekly awards
- Recap: Wranglers go-ahead goal in the last 31 seconds secures the win in Abbotsford
