Flames riding hot streak after Maloney pushes back against quitting on season

VANCOUVER – The Calgary Flames have delivered their best results of the year after team president Don Maloney pushed back against the idea of giving up on the 2025-26 season earlier in the week.

The Flames (8-13-3) beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday, then kicked off a five-game coast-to-coast road odyssey with a 5-2 win over the rested Vancouver Canucks (9-12-2) at Rogers Arena on Sunday.

“It’s been a tough grind for us,” said Connor Zary, who converted a rebound to give the Flames a 2-1 lead at 8:08 of the first period. “The schedule hasn’t been in our favour, but I’m proud of the guys and how we handled that and how we came out tonight and got the job done.”

Calgary’s other scorers were Morgan Frost, Kevin Bahl, Yegor Sharangovich and Blake Coleman, whose third-period short-handed tally was the 300th point of his career.

“Any round number, you start to reflect on where you are and how you got there and the people involved,” Coleman said. “Hard work pays off.”

The Canucks came out strong, opening the scoring at 1:05 of the first period when Filip Hronek went end-to-end before roofing the puck over Dustin Wolf’s shoulder on the first shot of the game.

But Wolf rallied from there, finishing with 28 saves to improve to 6-11-2 for the year.

“For me personally, it’s just getting back to feeling the way I want to feel,” said the 2025 Calder Trophy runner-up. “There’s been some games where I haven’t been my sharpest and it can get frustrating, but now it’s just going out there and worrying about what I can control. Don’t worry about the score, and just give your team a chance.”

With three assists, defenceman Rasmus Andersson extended his point streak to five games, with a total of 10 points. The 29-year-old defender was named the game’s first star as the Flames savoured their first three-game winning streak of the year.

“I think he’s been consistent all year for us, and now I would say he’s on a heater,” said coach Ryan Huska. The guys always talk about that, the younger guys, but he’s doing a lot of good things for us in a lot of different situations.”

The Flames’ road trip will now continue on the East Coast, as the five-game swing resumes against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.

MISTAKES BURN CANUCKS

After playing one of their best games of the year in their 4-2 loss to the Stars on Thursday and getting an early lead on Sunday, the Canucks couldn’t maintain that momentum for a full 60 minutes.

“Had a lot of Grade As and we lost it,” said defenceman Tyler Myers. “Kind of got away from getting pucks behind them, getting on our forecheck.”

After establishing their lead on back-to-back shifts midway through the first, the Flames pulled away with two more goals in the second. And while those goals came at even strength, Vancouver struggled to gain any offensive momentum while killing three penalties in the middle frame.

“Really good first and just fell apart there in the second a little bit,” said Quinn Hughes, who scored his second goal of the season on the power play in the third.

On the road last week, the Canucks were able to turn a 2-0 deficit against the Tampa Bay Lightning into a 6-2 win thanks to five third-period goals against an opponent playing back-to-back games. On Sunday, they were unable to conjure up a similar comeback.

“When you’re down by that much, it’s hard in this league to come back,” said Vancouver coach Adam Foote.

On a weekend where the new PWHL Vancouver Goldeneyes and Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps thrilled local fans with extra-time wins, the Canucks now sit 3-7-1 at Rogers Arena for the season.

The players are at a loss to explain their home-ice woes.

“I think we’ve got to dig in and learn and make sure we play as good as we can,” said Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen. “I’m sure the results will follow.”

The Canucks are also now headed onto the road, for a three-game swing through California.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2025.