The Flames were not a popular playoff pick prior to the season. There’s still a long way to go until the postseason, but Calgary is off to a scorching start.
Calgary will take its 4-0-0 record, the best in the NHL, into Saturday night’s game against the host Seattle Kraken.
The Flames defeated the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Tuesday behind two Matt Coronato goals, including an empty-netter, and goaltender Dustin Wolf’s 31 saves. That victory tied the franchise record for most wins to start a season, also achieved in 1993-94 and 2009-10.
“It’s a close game, coming out with a win in those kind of games maybe feels a little bit better,” Coronato said. “It was great to see how we (bore) down at the end and got the job done.
“I want to be able to help this team win in any kind of situation. I want to be trusted. My goal is just to help the team win, and do that any way I can, so it feels good.”
Calgary coach Ryan Huska said the Flames have become a “harder team to play against.”
“We’ve had goaltending, that’s a start for us, we’ve had some timely goals that we’ve been able to score, and I think the guys are committed to playing the right way away from the puck,” Huska said.
Wolf, a longtime prospect getting his chance after Jacob Markstrom was traded to the New Jersey Devils during the offseason, has a .944 save percentage and a 2.02 goals-against average through two starts this season.
Wolf admitted to having some extra motivation in facing Blackhawks wunderkind Connor Bedard.
“You see a guy like Bedard over there, who’s the next big thing, it’s rewarding to go out there and shut him down,” Wolf said. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to get wins, and we’re off to a good start.”
The Kraken opened a five-game homestand with a 6-4 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Jared McCann had a goal and two assists as six different players found the back of the net. That came after Seattle had seven players score in a 7-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
“I think when you have everybody going like we did (Thursday) — the last couple of nights have been good — we’ve just got to be consistent with it,” McCann said. “We’re not going to score six or seven goals every single game, but I think we can do a better job of just focusing and keeping the puck out of our net.”
The Kraken have won three of their past four games to move into a tie for second in the Pacific Division, two points behind the Flames.
“I think there’s a belief that the strength of the team is in our depth of our four forward lines and six or seven defensemen,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. “And that has just continued to show in our first five games here. Where we’re going to be as a successful team is in having a pack mentality. A group mentality. And everybody’s going to have a chance to chip in and do their thing.”
The Kraken could be without defenseman Vince Dunn, who didn’t play in the third period against Philadelphia after taking an awkward fall. Dunn missed Sunday’s game against the Dallas Stars with an upper-body injury.
