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Instant Reaction: Flames get the L, but earn a point, in Big D
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Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Ryan Pike
Apr 7, 2026, 22:48 EDT
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Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below! 
The Calgary Flames continued their hefty road trip on Tuesday night when they visited the Dallas Stars. Give the Flames credit: entering the game ranked third from the bottom in the NHL standings, they made the powerhouse Stars sweat for three periods.
The Flames got out to a 3-1 lead but couldn’t hold on, ultimately losing by a 4-3 score in overtime to Dallas.

The rundown

The opening period was pretty low event, as both teams struggled to hit the net. (The Stars had a lot of zone time, though.)
Kevin Bahl was hurt 3:31 into the game and the Flames went to five defenders for the rest of the game.
First period shots were 4-2 Flames.
The Stars got on the board a few minutes into the second period. A Thomas Harley shot went wide, but it bounced off the end boards and went right to Justin Hryckowian at the far post, who chipped the puck past a sprawling Devin Cooley. That gave the home side a 1-0 lead.
Zayne Parekh helped break up an odd-man Stars rush midway through the period. The play went the other way. Adam Klapka’s initial chance off the rush was stopped by Jake Oettinger, but Joel Farabee collected the puck and fired it into the Dallas net to tie things up at 1-1.
Late in the period, the Flames grabbed the lead. Klapka made a nice play at the Stars’ blueline to hold the puck in. He passed to Yegor Sharangovich, and his shot glanced off Ilya Lyubushkin and trickled between Oettinger’s pads and into the net. That gave the Flames a 2-1 advantage.
Second period shots were 7-6 Flames.
On a carry-over power play from the end of the second period, the Flames got a man advantage goal early in the third period. The Flames made a ton of nice passes after gaining the zone, ending with Zayne Parekh whipping the puck past Oettinger to give the Flames a 3-1 lead.
But then Dallas woke up.
50 seconds after Parekh’s goal, a Mikko Rantanen wrap-around was stopped by Cooley. But the loose puck was banged into the open net by Wyatt Johnston to cut the Flames’ lead to 3-2.
A little after that, Dallas scored off the rush. Tyler Myers’ stretch pass sent Matt Duchene into the Flames’ zone. Duchene threw a pass towards the front of the and Jason Robertson beat Parekh in a race up the ice, with Robertson getting a stick on the puck for a redirect past Cooley. That tied the game at 3-3.
Both teams had looks in the remainder of regulation, but neither could bury anything.
Third period shots were 7-7.
This game required extra time!
Ryan Strome took a high-sticking double minor 48 seconds into overtime. Cooley and the Flames hung in there, but Johnston put a back-hander short-side on Cooley to give the Stars the overtime victory by a 4-3 score.

Why the Flames got a point

Give the Flames credit: they played a pretty good road game against a strong opponent. And they hung in there while missing Kevin Bahl, a really important player and a stabilizing presence on their back end. But the Stars are the Stars: they’re a deep, talented team… and they have an extra gear they can tap into at times that the Flames simply do not have right now.
But man, the Flames hung in there.

Red Warrior

In the absence of Kevin Bahl, three Flames defenders played north of 20 minutes: Zach Whitecloud, Olli Maatta and Yan Kuznetsov. These gentlemen will share this coveted award.
But don’t dismiss Devin Cooley’s contributions. He was superb this evening.

Turning point

If you’re someone that wanted to see a Flames win, Ryan Strome’s overtime double minor was sub-optimal.

This and that

Devin Cooley started in net. Aydar Suniev made his season debut, with Victor Olofsson rotating out to open a spot for him.

After Burner

Join Cami Kepke and myself right after the game for After Burner!

Up next

The Flames (32-36-9) continue their road trip on Thursday night in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche. Yes, again, for the second time on this road trip.

PRESENTED BY STAKE

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