The Calgary Flames entered 2025 in a playoff spot, an impressive achievement for a team that was expected to be rebuilding and near the bottom of the standings.
However, the Flames are aware that their work is far from finished as they prepare to host the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday, with the season’s halfway point still to come.
“We’re not here to be in a playoff spot January 1st and then not when the season’s over,” said Calgary forward Ryan Lomberg. “We’re in one now, we’ve got to do what we can to stay in one and continue to climb here. We’re proving people wrong, but we’re not proving ourselves wrong.”
The Flames began a three-game homestand with a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on New Year’s Eve, moving them into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
After trading several key veterans last season and during the summer and focusing on younger players, the Flames were expected to struggle. Instead, they are staying competitive and are on a 4-1-2 run.
Veterans like Jonathan Huberdeau, who has 16 goals this season and is on track for a career-high total, and Nazem Kadri are contributing significantly. Kadri scored another third-period goal to break a tie against Vancouver. Eight of his 14 goals this season have come in the third period.
“I always try to approach it and have that killer-instinct type mentality and want to be the hero,” Kadri said. “When the game’s on the line, I like to step up. It’s not going to happen every time, but I sure like to believe that.”
Utah is going through a tough stretch, losing five straight games and earning just one extra-time point after a strong 8-1-2 stretch that got them into the playoff race.
They come into Calgary after a 4-1 loss at Edmonton on Tuesday. The game was tied 1-1 until the Oilers scored twice in a 20-second span early in the second period.
“I think we pushed and I still think we have a lot more in that room and we would all feel and say the same thing about (the Tuesday) game,” said forward Liam O’Brien. “We had a push and hit a crossbar and had an empty net there on the one play. We kept it tight, but we have to find ways to win games.”
Utah now trails Calgary by five points in the playoff race.
Despite the recent struggles, coach Andre Tourigny is doing his best to keep the team positive and focused on the good aspects of their play.
“I liked our mindset in the (Edmonton) game. I think we went to play the right way,” Tourigny said. “We defended with a lot of pride, we were resilient all night long. Obviously, I don’t think we had the energy and the wheels to generate a lot of offense, but I loved the fight in our guys a lot.”
Utah’s captain Clayton Keller, who leads the team with 37 points, missed the Edmonton game due to illness. It was unclear on Wednesday whether he would return to the lineup in Calgary.
