Home hasn’t exactly been sweet for either the Calgary Flames or the Seattle Kraken.
The Flames have lost three in a row and four of their past five games at the Saddledome entering Saturday’s matchup with the visiting Kraken, dropping Calgary out of the second and final wild-card playoff position in the NHL’s Western Conference.
The Flames are coming off a 4-2 home loss Thursday to the Colorado Avalanche despite getting 30 saves from goaltender Dustin Wolf.
“We try to work as hard as we can,” said forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who scored his team-leading 21st goal of the season in the defeat. “(It) was not our best game, but I think we know we’re capable of way more. Obviously, it’s not a good time to lose a couple in a row but we’ve got one more (before the 4 Nations Face-Off break), come back and play hard.”
Calgary defenseman MacKenzie Weegar had an assist on Thursday to extend his point streak to four games (0 goals, 5 assists).
“I just thought the energy was a little low,” Weegar said. “Just another opportunity for us to make our mark in the standings and it just wasn’t there. I thought we got to get back to committing to doing the hard work out there, the stuff nobody really likes to do but it’s important … grinding down low in the corners, backchecking hard, staying on top of checks.
“They’ve got some skill over there that took over as well, so we’ve got to find a way to stop that.”
Meanwhile, the Kraken just completed a 1-3-1 homestand and are 11 points back in the wild-card race. Seattle has fallen behind by multiple goals in each of its past three games, including a 3-1 loss Thursday to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Kraken coach Dan Bylsma lamented that his team mustered only 11 scoring chances against the Maples Leafs despite recording 27 shots on goal.
“That’s not enough,” Bylsma said. “I think at times, we’ve been better at having a shooting mentality, and getting guys around the blue paint. I think you can expect to get the pretty goals every now and again, but you’ve got to get a little hungry and a little dirtier to score the everyday goals.”
Kraken captain Jordan Eberle donned a regular jersey for the morning skate Thursday but still hasn’t played since suffering a pelvic injury in November that required surgery. He’s expected to return after the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“I’ll just call them baby steps at this time,” Bylsma said of Eberle’s progress, per The Seattle Times. “It’s great for the group. It’s great for ‘Ebs.’ His leadership in that room is a big part of it…getting him back on the ice means we’re a little closer to getting him back.”
The Flames and Kraken met last Sunday in Seattle, with the visiting Flames building a three-goal lead in the first period and holding on for a 3-2 victory. Yegor Sharangovich had a goal and an assist for Calgary, while Morgan Frost scored his first goal with the Flames after being acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers.
–Field Level Media
