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For the first time this season, the Calgary Flames have lost a game, albeit in overtime.
On Saturday evening, the Flames faced the Seattle Kraken, falling 2-1 to the National Hockey League’s 32nd franchise in the extra frame. Their record now sits at 4-0-1 and they remain undefeated in regulation.

The rundown

It was a low-event first period until the very end, as the two teams exchanged 13 shots on target, with Calgary only having five.
The Flames’ final shot of the period resulted in their only goal, as Blake Coleman’s seeing eye shot from the point found the twine for his first tally of the season. The lone assist went to captain Mikael Backlund.
The 1-0 lead held for a while until the Flames ran into some penalty trouble in the second period. On a 5-on-3 for Seattle, Chandler Stephenson scored his first goal for the Kraken on a one-timer. It was his second such attempt in short succession, beating Flames netminder Dan Vladar.
Speaking of Vladar, he had a great game between the pipes, stopping 21 of 23 shots for a .913 save percentage. After a rough first game where he allowed five goals on 24 shots, Vladar now has back-to-back games with a save percentage above .900.
Towards the end of the third period, the Flames had a flurry of chances attempting to take the lead. With about three and a half minutes left, they had their best chance to pick up their fifth consecutive win.
It wasn’t meant to be though, as the Kraken’s captain, Jordan Eberle, scored his fifth goal of the season in overtime to win the game 2-1 for the Kraken.

Why the Flames lost

The Flames took far too many penalties on Saturday evening, heading to the box five times for 12 minutes on the kill. This included three penalties in the second period, including a double minor from Nazem Kadri.
While the kill was successful, allowing a single goal on six attempts, taking the penalties the Flames did killed the momentum they had after the first period.

Red Warrior

With as few opportunities as the Flames had throughout the game, it’s hard to give the Red Warrior award to any of the skaters. Coleman gets an honourable mention as he was the only player to score on Joey Daccord, but this was a goaltending battle through and through. Therefore, the Red Warrior award goes to Dan Vladar thanks to many key stops throughout the game.

Turning point

Already alluded to in the “Why the Flames lost” section, it was the penalties that ultimately turned the game around for the Kraken. More specifically, it was Jonathan Huberdeau’s slashing penalty to put the Kraken on a 5-on-3 that was the turning point. Shortly after the penalty, Stephenson scored to tie the game.

This and that

The double-minor high-sticking call on Nazem Kadri wasn’t a good one. While a player “must be in control of their stick at all times” is the rule, it doesn’t really make sense when a player is stick lifted. The same scenario happened in the Edmonton Oilers’ game on Thursday.

Up next

The Flames (4-0-1) are headed home. They kick off a week-long homestand on Tuesday night when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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