Desperate Flames aim to avoid season sweep to Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche were climbing in the standings, but their momentum was stopped Saturday by a team fighting to secure a playoff spot.

They face a more desperate team, the Calgary Flames, when they wrap up a four-game homestand on Monday night in Denver.

Calgary (34-26-12, 80 points) is seven points behind St. Louis for the final wild card in the Western Conference but it has three games in hand on the Blues, who beat Colorado on Saturday for their ninth win in a row.

The Flames hurt their cause with a 3-2 overtime loss at Edmonton on Saturday night but can gain in the standings starting Monday night.

“You can’t get discouraged. I think that’s encouraging more than anything,” said Nazem Kadri, who notched his 700th career point in the loss to the Oilers. “I mean, that’s the funny thing about hockey. Sometimes you play great and you lose. And sometimes you don’t play so great and win. We continue to repeat that, I think I like our chances.”

Calgary has lost two in a row after winning its previous four. The Flames have lost the first two meetings against Colorado — both at home — and will try to prevent being swept in the season series.

Kadri, who played three seasons with the Avalanche and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2022, is tied with Jonathan Huberdeau for the team lead in scoring with 58 points apiece. Kadri’s 30 goals is most on the roster and he also has 28 assists, while Huberdeau has 27 goals and 31 assists.

Preparation Is My Confidence' | Calgary Flames

Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar is third in scoring with 41 points (seven goals, 34 assists).

Colorado (45-26-3, 93 points) had won four straight and 11 in a row at home before Saturday’s 2-1 setback against St. Louis, which was a blow to its chances of catching Dallas for second place in the Central Division.

The Avalanche trail by seven points and have played one more game than the Stars.

Colorado was 12-1-1 in the 14 games before Saturday, and all three of its losses in March are by scores of 2-1. Nathan MacKinnon scored the lone goal against the Blues, which extended his home points streak to 24 games and kept him in a tight battle for the NHL scoring lead.

MacKinnon’s 109 points (30 goals, 79 assists) are tied with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. Cale Makar’s 84 points (27 goals, 57 assists) lead all NHL defenseman.

The Avalanche have surged in the Central Division after remaking their roster. They acquired centers Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle as well as defenseman Ryan Lindgren at the trade deadline to add quality depth to the lineup.

The addition of Lindgren proved vital after defenseman Josh Manson went out with an upper-body injury two weeks ago.

Avalanche extend point streak to 8 with win against Flames | NHL.com

His addition, and with (Erik Johnson), has become more important with guys missing time again,” coach Jared Bednar said. “Adding that depth, that’s why you do it, so you can be as strong as you can when everyone’s healthy and still have other options who can help win hockey games. He’s a big part of that.”

GAME DAY: Feels like a must-win as Flames visit MacKinnon, Makar in Colorado

The Flames, now seven points out, will be aiming to get their wild-card chase back on track as they face the Avalanche at Ball Arena

Calgary Flames (34-26-12) at Colorado Avalanche (45-26-3)

TV: Sports on Prime. Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan

Odds: Flames +198, Avalanche -245

The buzz

On their first stop on this road-trip, the Calgary Flames were burned by the NHL’s leading lamp-lighter.

If you were hoping for good news, you might want to skip this next part …

Because it doesn’t get any easier Monday as the Flames, scrapping to stay relevant in the Western Conference wild-card quest, cruise into Colorado for a clash with the Avalanche.

Desperate Flames aim to avoid season sweep to Avalanche | Reuters

That means they’re up against Nathan MacKinnon, who is tied for top spot in the Art Ross Trophy race with 109 points. The speed-demon superstar is also the NHL’s reigning MVP.

And we haven’t even mentioned Cale Makar yet.

While you’d normally excuse a loss to a powerhouse like the Avs, the Flames are getting pretty close to must-win territory after settling for a single point in Saturday’s Battle of Alberta. They were burned twice by Leon Draisaitl, who scored late in regulation and again in overtime.