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Instant Reaction: Flames open road trip with loss in Toronto
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Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Ryan Pike
Oct 28, 2025, 20:38 EDTUpdated: Oct 28, 2025, 20:58 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 played some good hockey in Toronto on Tuesday night. They did some good things and made some nice plays. But as has become tradition early this season, the Flames’ good moments were wiped out by some poor puck management and ill-timed penalties.
The Flames opened a four game eastern road trip with a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The rundown

The Flames were sharp early, skating well and generating a decent amount of scoring chances off the rush. Four and a half minutes into the game, they hit paydirt.
A nice rush passing sequence between Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau and Morgan Frost ended with Frost chipping the puck past Anthony Stolarz to make it 1-0. Frost didn’t look like he received the pass or get the shot off the way he intended to, which may have caught Stolarz off-guard in terms of how his shot was released.
The game got a bit clunky after that, as both teams took some penalties that led to some extended special teams time… but no more goals.
First period shots were 11-9 Maple Leafs. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 6-4 Flames and high-danger chances were 2-1 Flames.
The Leafs had a pretty good push-back in the second period and some nice counter-punch rush hockey led to a tying goal. A few Flames got caught up ice on an initial rush chance, while the puck got moving back the other way. Joel Hanley was left back to defend an odd-man rush – Ryan Lomberg hustled back to try to turn it into a two-on-two – and Max Domi called his own number, beating Dustin Wolf with a dandy shot to tie the game at 1-1.
A little while later, though, the Flames got the lead back. Joel Farabee was switched over to the fourth line for a shift… and it resulted in a goal. Farabee got a pass in the offensive zone from Justin Kirkand, and Farabee opted to drive the net. He jammed the puck through Stolarz’ pads to give the Flames a 2-1 edge.
But before the end of the period, the Leafs answered back. Mikael Backlund had the puck stolen from him in the defensive zone by William Nylander. Nylander passed to Matthew Knies, who waited out a sprawling Wolf to tie the game at 2-2.
Second period shots were 16-8 Maple Leafs. 5v5 scoring chances were 12-9 Maple Leafs and high-danger chances were 6-4 Maple Leafs.
With Joel Hanley in the penalty box, the Maple Leafs took their first lead of the proceedings early in the third period. The Flames actually got the puck off the face-off, but a Rasmus Andersson dump-out hit a Leaf instead and created some chaos. John Tavares’ initial shot was stopped by Wolf, but Kevin Bahl fell over Wolf, which slid him further away from the net-front, and then Andersson and Mikael Backlund couldn’t clear the net-front area and Knies swatted in the loose rebound to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead.
But as time began to wind down, the Flames drew even. This time, Backlund created a giveaway in the Leafs’ zone and fed the puck to Sam Honzek in front of the net. Honzek beat Stolarz five-hole to tie the game at 3-3.
But the Leafs got the lead back late. The Flames couldn’t get a clean zone exit and it led to a quick pass from Knies to Domi, and Domi beat Wolf to give the Leafs a 4-3 lead with just over two minutes left.
The Flames couldn’t draw even and the Leafs won 4-3.
Third period shots were 12-10 Flames. 5v5 scoring chances were 7-6 Maple Leafs and high-danger chances were 3-1 Flames.

Why the Flames lost

The Flames generally played pretty well, but their details – and their overall game – faded as things wore on. The Flames did some good things, but a lot of their challenges were self-inflicted: too many penalties, a power play that couldn’t convert, and giveaways at the wrong times.

Red Warrior

Let’s give it to Honzek for his first NHL goal. Stick-taps to Farabee for his first of the season, too.

Turning point

Domi’s game-winner with 2:04 remaining in the game is the obvious answer here. It was a tough turnover at the worst possible time.

This and that

Matt Coronato returned to the lineup after being scratched against the Rangers. With his return, Adam Klapka was moved to the press box.

After Burner

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

Up next

The Flames (2-8-1) are headed to Canada’s capital city! They visit the Ottawa Senators in Kanata on Thursday night.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi

This article is a Presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca

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