Johnny Gaudreau and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Flames 5-2 at the Saddledome to extend losing skid
Despite an injection of enthusiasm with the return of defenceman Oliver Kylington, the Calgary Flames looked like a team lacking energy as they dropped a fourth straight game at the Saddledome on Thursday night.
Inexplicable, really.
Not only did the franchise get Kylington back for the first time in almost 20 months, the Flames welcomed back former franchise favourite Johnny Gaudreau. There was energy in the building as the fans roared in support of Kylington and booed their heel every time Gaudreau touched he puck.
On the ice. Flatline.
Jonathan Huberdeau could barely muster a mild shrug after his hit on Jack Roslovic got him ejected for boarding. There was a lot of shrugging in the stands as Flames fans tried to figure out how their team could tank so hard during the most important home stretch of the season ahead of the extended all-star break.
The 5-2 loss to Gaudreau’s Columbus Blue Jackets was the fourth straight loss. You might understand the first couple against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers, but the St. Louis Blues and now the Blue Jackets … without much of a fight … puzzling.
A bad bounce led to an early deficit as a dump in by Yegor Chinakov hit referee Steve Kozari and bounced back to the Blue Jackets forward — who used the surprise break to snap a shot past Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
MacKenzie Weegar, one of the hottest Calgary Flames of late, tied things up with a blast from the point but another strange goal restored the Jackets lead.
Markstrom fired the puck along the glass to clear it from behind the net but it hit something and dropped right to defenceman Damon Severson. Severson was able to get a shot off more quickly than Markstrom could recover.
They rallied again when Rasmus Andersson’s rebound banked off Matt Coronato to fellow rookie Connor Zary, who popped the puck in the net to draw the Flames even again.
That was the last time they’d be that close.
The second period was a complete disaster. The abysmal powerplay cost them the game-winner when Alexandre Texier scored shorthanded on an odd-man rush, sticking with the puck and chipping his own rebound past Markstrom.
After dominating the second period, the Blue Jackets took advantage of a major mistake (pun intended) in the third when Huberdeau drew copious amounts of Roslovic’s blood by banging his head into the boards with a hit from behind-ish.
The five-minute penalty was an obstacle the Flames couldn’t overcome. Dmitri Voronkov scored on a deflection to double the Blue Jackets’ lead. Adam Fantilli added an empty netter for good measure.
After a day off on Friday, the Flames have one more chance to snap the losing skid with the Chicago Blackhawks in town on Saturday.