The Colorado Avalanche beat the Calgary Flames 7-3 on Thursday at Scotiabank Saddledome, with Cale Makar scoring twice and adding an assist for a three-point night. Devon Toews also scored twice as Colorado improved to 3-1-0 while Calgary dropped to 0-4-0.
The Avalanche pulled away with a four-goal third period that turned a 3-1 game into a 7-3 blowout. Makar’s second goal of the night, a slap shot off feeds from Nathan MacKinnon and Nazem Kadri, made it 5-1 just 5:35 into the final frame, and Jaden Schwartz added two goals in the period to seal it. Mikael Backlund scored Calgary’s lone goal of regulation note on a tip-in, with Kevin Bahl also finding the net, but the Flames never got closer than two goals in the third.
Key Moments: How The Avalanche Pulled Away
Toews opened the scoring with a tip-in at 15:54 of the first period, and Adam Klapka answered 96 seconds later to tie it 1-1 heading into the second. Colorado took control in the middle frame, with Toews scoring again at 6:45, Makar following at 9:16 and MacKinnon capping the surge with a slap shot at 11:39 to make it 4-1 through two periods.
Calgary tried to climb back in the third. Backlund’s tip-in at 7:17 and Bahl’s wrist shot at 8:28 cut the deficit to 6-3, but Schwartz answered just over a minute later with his second goal of the night to restore the four-goal cushion and close out the scoring at 7-3.
Top Performers
Makar finished with two goals and an assist for three points, while MacKinnon had a goal and two assists. Toews scored twice and Schwartz also had a multi-goal game with two tallies. Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 26 saves on 29 shots for a .897 save percentage.
For Calgary, Devin Cooley stopped 23 of 30 shots. Backlund led the Flames with a goal, and Yegor Sharangovich picked up an assist.
What It Means
Colorado sits at 6 points in the Central Division standings, one point behind Winnipeg and tied with Utah atop the group. Calgary remains winless through four games at 0-4-0 and sits at the bottom of the Pacific Division with zero points. The Avalanche also lead the season series with the Flames 1-0.
Colorado’s power play went 0-for-3 and Calgary’s finished 0-for-2, meaning all 10 goals in the game came at even strength. The Avalanche won 41 of 70 faceoffs for a 58.6% success rate, a sizable edge over Calgary’s 41.4%.
What’s Next
The Avalanche and Flames meet again as part of their season series, with Colorado already holding a 1-0 edge after Thursday’s result. Colorado looks to build on its 3-1-0 start, while Calgary searches for its first win of the season after opening 0-4-0. For more on Colorado’s early-season form, see the Avalanche’s win over the Kings and the Avalanche’s loss to the Jets earlier this season.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
