Flames losing playoff ground through series of self-inflicted wounds

CALGARY — At the tail end of a humbling week, the Calgary Flames had one last chance to go into the break feeling a little better about themselves.

However, a series of self-inflicted wounds late in a 3-2 overtime loss Saturday night saw them hit a season low.

“Pissed that one away,” said MacKenzie Weegar, perfectly summing up the squandering of a 2-0 lead with seven minutes left.

“That one’s a tough one to swallow before the break. Another big two points. I felt like even getting one there, doesn’t matter. There were two points for us to take there and we didn’t get it.”

“We had an opportunity to go into the break feeling great. 

“That’s tough. I’m kind of pissed off right now.”

He wasn’t alone.

Two failed clearing attempts led to Shane Wright cutting the Flames lead in half with seven minutes left, before Andre Burakovsky stripped Jonathan Huberdeau two minutes later and skated in alone to squeeze the game-tying goal through Dustin Wolf.

The Dome Groan was palpable, topped only by the silence following Matty Beniers' overtime winner on a power play.

Seattle had the man-advantage thanks to a Morgan Frost holding call on a backcheck the Flames deemed “soft.”   

Fact is, Weegar could easily have been called for a cross-check on Vince Dunn moments earlier.

Either way, it all added up to the type of late-game thud this team isn’t used to authoring.

Because of it, the Flames lost ground to Vancouver once again, dropping three points behind the Canucks for the final wild card berth.

It marked the team’s third loss in a row at a time when the mettle of every playoff contender is tested.

Their schedule has been a tough one, facing four of the league’s best teams in a 17-day stretch that included 10 games.

Since the calendar has turned from 2024, the Flames have posted an 8-9 record, losing significant ground.

Is this the slide most people predicted for an overachieving squad that seems to be running out of gas and goalie heroics?

Does this group have the mental fortitude to stay in a playoff race that will only get tougher, starting with a tough, six-game roadie later this month?

We’ll see... but not for another few weeks. 

“I don’t think it’s going to be that much harder, to be honest,” said Ryan Huska when asked if a meltdown this epic just before the break will be tougher to process.

“These players deserve their time away right now. They’ve done a lot of great things to this point. We let one get away from us tonight, which we haven’t done a lot of over the course of the year. Our guys will use this time to their advantage, to get re-energized, refocused and ready for a big stretch of games coming back after the break.”

You can bet when the lads return to practice Feb. 18, there will be plenty of concern over whether this week’s losses are a reflection of where this team is at when the pace and stakes increase.

For a team that has generally thrived when asked to hold onto late-game leads, you can’t help but wonder if Saturday’s stunner will leave a mark.

It sure does in the standings, which is where everything hurts the most these days.

With 10 minutes left, the Flames were playing the sort of game that got them into the thick of a playoff race, with Wolf in control and the Kraken largely neutralized throughout a low-event contest.

Frost’s second goal as a Flame was another beautiful finish, followed by an early third period passing play from Huberdeau to Nazem Kadri that seemed like it would seal the deal.

However, a Flames team that was 16-1-1 when leading after two, imploded from there.

“It sucks going into the break like this,” said Huberdeau.

“We needed these two points.”