<p>Over the course of a three game homestand, the Calgary Flames couldn&#8217;t string together three good periods in any of their games. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/08/instant-reaction-flames-shut-out-the-canadiens-1-0-in-return-to-the-dome/">On Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens</a>, they had two good periods and then hung in there in the third period for a win. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/12/instant-reaction-canucks-edge-flames-4-3-in-a-shootout/">On Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks</a>, they again had two good periods and then fell short in the third period and lost in a shootout.</p>
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<p>Well, the Flames flipped the script on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche.</p>
<p>Instead of strong first and second periods followed by a flat finish, the Flames were fairly unremarkable for two periods before waking up for the third period. Unfortunately, it wasn&#8217;t enough in a 4-2 home loss against the Avalanche.</p>
<p>&#8220;I thought we had good push in the third period,&#8221; said Flames head coach Ryan Huska following the game. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t like our first two periods. I thought we had too many guys that were not fully into the game tonight. Maybe three quarters to start with. And then halfway through the game, I thought we started to get more engaged.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Flames were chasing for much of the first half of the game. They didn&#8217;t register their fourth shot on goal until 32:50 into the game. Yeah, they registered six shots over the final six minutes of the period, and then had another 14 shots in the third period, but as Blake Coleman noted post-game: &#8220;too little, too late.&#8221;</p>
<p>Flames blueliner Rasmus Andersson provided a player&#8217;s perspective following the game.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think we played too well with the puck,&#8221; said Andersson. &#8220;We were a little sloppy with the puck tonight and that cost us. I thought we defended well but it cost us with the puck. That last five minutes of the second period maybe and then the third we were pushing and we were pushing. But yeah, a little sloppy tonight and just couldn&#8217;t get the forecheck going first 30, 35 minutes of the game.&#8221;</p>
<p>Huska offered his thoughts on what led to the Flames being so tentative early on.</p>
<p>&#8220;I felt at times they respected them way too much early in the game,&#8221; said Huska. &#8220;That was pretty evident to me because the detail, the structural side of it was fine, but it was like people were waiting for something to happen, or I don&#8217;t want to be in the wrong position, so I make a mistake.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/14/flames-captain-mikael-backlund-out-week-to-week-with-upper-body-injury/">With Mikael Backlund absent due to injury and Connor Zary serving a suspension</a>, the Flames began the game with the following lines:</p>
<ul>
<li>Jonathan Huberdeau &#8211; Nazem Kadri &#8211; Matt Coronato</li>
<li>Joel Farabee &#8211; Yegor Sharangovich &#8211; Blake Coleman</li>
<li>Martin Pospisil &#8211; Morgan Frost &#8211; Adam Klapka</li>
<li>Ryan Lomberg &#8211; Kevin Rooney &#8211; Dryden Hunt</li>
</ul>
<p>Huska started tinkering with the lines midway through the second period, and they started to get some traction in the third period.</p>
<p>&#8220;We changed some lines around,&#8221; said Huska. &#8220;I think some guys got engaged. I thought they just shoot at the puck, shot the puck a little bit more, and were a little bit more aggressive in getting to their net.&#8221;</p>
<p>Huska noted that the new trio of Coleman, Frost and Coronato were one of their more dangerous lines. After that trio found their stride, the Flames were arguably the better team – especially in a third period where they found the execution that was lacking earlier on. The other lines in the final chunk of the game included Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil, Farabee-Sharangovich-Klapka and Lomberg-Rooney-Hunt.</p>
<p>&#8220;If we play like we did in the third, we&#8217;ll be fine,&#8221; said Andersson. &#8220;But we just got to find that desperation in the first two periods and you know, it&#8217;s almost like the complete opposite from the last two games. We&#8217;ve had two good periods in the last two games and then third we haven&#8217;t been there. And then today it&#8217;s two bad periods and the third is there. So we&#8217;ve got to figure out how to play 60 minutes and, it starts with us in the leadership group. And we just, we&#8217;ve got to do a better job.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Flames return to action on Monday night when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.</p>
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Over the course of a three game homestand, the Calgary Flames couldn't string together three good periods in any of their games. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/08/instant-reaction-flames-shut-out-the-canadiens-1-0-in-return-to-the-dome/">On Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens</a>, they had two good periods and then hung in there in the third period for a win. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/12/instant-reaction-canucks-edge-flames-4-3-in-a-shootout/">On Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks</a>, they again had two good periods and then fell short in the third period and lost in a shootout.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
Well, the Flames flipped the script on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche.

Instead of strong first and second periods followed by a flat finish, the Flames were fairly unremarkable for two periods before waking up for the third period. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough in a 4-2 home loss against the Avalanche.

"I thought we had good push in the third period," said Flames head coach Ryan Huska following the game. "I didn't like our first two periods. I thought we had too many guys that were not fully into the game tonight. Maybe three quarters to start with. And then halfway through the game, I thought we started to get more engaged."

The Flames were chasing for much of the first half of the game. They didn't register their fourth shot on goal until 32:50 into the game. Yeah, they registered six shots over the final six minutes of the period, and then had another 14 shots in the third period, but as Blake Coleman noted post-game: "too little, too late."

Flames blueliner Rasmus Andersson provided a player's perspective following the game.

"I don't think we played too well with the puck," said Andersson. "We were a little sloppy with the puck tonight and that cost us. I thought we defended well but it cost us with the puck. That last five minutes of the second period maybe and then the third we were pushing and we were pushing. But yeah, a little sloppy tonight and just couldn't get the forecheck going first 30, 35 minutes of the game."

Huska offered his thoughts on what led to the Flames being so tentative early on.

"I felt at times they respected them way too much early in the game," said Huska. "That was pretty evident to me because the detail, the structural side of it was fine, but it was like people were waiting for something to happen, or I don't want to be in the wrong position, so I make a mistake."

<a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/14/flames-captain-mikael-backlund-out-week-to-week-with-upper-body-injury/">With Mikael Backlund absent due to injury and Connor Zary serving a suspension</a>, the Flames began the game with the following lines:
<ul>
 	<li>Jonathan Huberdeau - Nazem Kadri - Matt Coronato</li>
 	<li>Joel Farabee - Yegor Sharangovich - Blake Coleman</li>
 	<li>Martin Pospisil - Morgan Frost - Adam Klapka</li>
 	<li>Ryan Lomberg - Kevin Rooney - Dryden Hunt</li>
</ul>
Huska started tinkering with the lines midway through the second period, and they started to get some traction in the third period.

"We changed some lines around," said Huska. "I think some guys got engaged. I thought they just shoot at the puck, shot the puck a little bit more, and were a little bit more aggressive in getting to their net."

Huska noted that the new trio of Coleman, Frost and Coronato were one of their more dangerous lines. After that trio found their stride, the Flames were arguably the better team – especially in a third period where they found the execution that was lacking earlier on. The other lines in the final chunk of the game included Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil, Farabee-Sharangovich-Klapka and Lomberg-Rooney-Hunt.

"If we play like we did in the third, we'll be fine," said Andersson. "But we just got to find that desperation in the first two periods and you know, it's almost like the complete opposite from the last two games. We've had two good periods in the last two games and then third we haven't been there. And then today it's two bad periods and the third is there. So we've got to figure out how to play 60 minutes and, it starts with us in the leadership group. And we just, we've got to do a better job."

The Flames return to action on Monday night when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Flames flip their recent script but still fall short against Colorado

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