Calgary @ Colorado preview
Ball Arena
Last Meeting ( Dec 9, 2019 ) Calgary 5, Colorado 4
The two hottest teams in the NHL will meet for the first time this season in a game that should contain a playoff feel.
The Calgary Flames, winners of 12 of their past 14 games, visit the Colorado Avalanche, the NHL points leaders, on Saturday night in Denver for the first of three meetings between the teams.
Both are coming off unexpected losses to teams out of the postseason hunt. The Flames fell at home to Montreal, 5-4 in overtime, while Colorado's potent offense was held in check in a 2-1 loss at Arizona.
The division leaders might have been guilty of looking ahead to Saturday's game while playing last-place teams, but the intensity was there for both. Calgary scored in the final minute of regulation to send it to overtime and earn a point while the Avalanche's best player took on an enforcer's role when he dropped the gloves with 4 seconds left against the Coyotes.
Nathan MacKinnon's normal role is a scorer, not a fighter, but he took exception to a high stick from Dysin Mayo on a faceoff and went after Mayo while bleeding from Mayo's stick.
"When the puck hit the ice it looked like Nate took a high stick on that," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "Took offense to the high stick right off the faceoff and tempers ran hot a little bit and both guys got into a fight."
Colorado might have been frustrated from losing a one-goal game in regulation for the first time this season. It was also the first time the Avalanche lost when scoring first this season. They were 30-0-3 when scoring first before Thursday.
The Flames had won 11 straight home games before losing to the Canadiens. It was a rare off night for Calgary, which had been rolling before Thursday, winning 10 straight from Jan. 29 to Feb. 21. The Flames have climbed to the top of the Pacific Division standings and a top-two seed.
Calgary's hot streak -- it has earned a point in 13 of the last 14 games -- was due, in part, to a strategy of wearing down teams, especially in home games. That was absent against Montreal.
"We haven't been wearing teams down and stuff like that, like we did a couple weeks ago," said Elias Lindholm, who had a goal in the loss. "We need to get back to that. That's how we want to play -- wear teams down, play in the offensive zone as much as possible. And right now, we're turning pucks over and play too much up and down."
Colorado, which has been on a tear since Nov. 6, is capable of creating goals out of turnovers. The seeds of this kind of dominance began when the Avalanche and Flames met in the playoffs in 2019. Colorado pulled off the five-game upset of Calgary, which was the top seed.
That series marked the NHL debut of Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who is from Calgary. Makar takes a 10-game assist streak into Saturday night, and if he gets at least one against the Flames he will set a new Avalanche franchise record.
--Field Level Media