The Calgary Flames nightmarish start to the season continued on Thursday night, as they fell to the Ottawa Senators in a shootout by a 4-3 final. With the loss, the Flames are now 2-8-2 on the season, which is the worst record in the entire NHL. There were things to like from Thursday’s effort, but at the end of the day, it’s yet another loss.
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The Flames held three separate one-goal leads in this game, but were unable to hold onto any of them. Picking up the single point is better than nothing, but it’s clear that the frustration is quickly mounting with this group, who are sliding further and further from the playoff picture each day. With that said, here are the three main takeaways from last night’s outing.
Can’t Hold Any Lead
The Flames were able to hit the three-goal mark for the fourth-straight outing last night, suggesting that their offence has turned things around following a horrid start to the season. Whether it can continue remains to be seen, though it won’t matter a whole lot until they can turn things around defensively.
The Flames were sloppy in this one, unable to hold onto any lead they mustered against the Senators. Where this tight checking, relentless group from a season ago went is anyone’s guess, but they are going to need to quickly re-establish that identity if they hope to climb up the standings.
Cooley Was Outstanding
The 2025-26 season has seen the Flames ride Dustin Wolf hard in the early going, as he had made all but one start heading into Thursday’s outing. The 24-year-old received a well-deserved night off in this one, however, as Devin Cooley was given the nod for what was his second start of the season.
“I thought it was one of our best games of the year. I’m just a simple goalie, so I don’t know all the details,” Cooley said to reporters postgame. “I thought our power play was excellent, our penalty kill was excellent. I thought we were really solid. It’s a close game, they’re a good team. It was a really fun battle, and I’m happy we were able to get a point out of it.”
After a great showing against the Utah Mammoth earlier in the month, Cooley was fantastic in this one once again, kicking aside 35 of the 38 shots he faced for a superb .921 save percentage (SV%). Though Cooley allowed goals on the only two shootout shots he faced, he cannot be faulted for that. This start should be viewed as a major positive, and could result in Cooley being trusted with a bigger workload moving forward.
Sharangovich Heating Up
The 2025-26 season has been disappointing for many Flames players on an individual level, and one of the biggest disappointments early on had been the play of Yegor Sharangovich. The 27-year-old, who was in need of a rebound season, wasn’t bringing much of anything to the table and wound up sitting two games as a healthy scratch.
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Since getting back into the lineup, Sharangovich has looked like a different player. He was able to open the scoring in this one, putting one home on the power play less than 10 minutes into the first period. He’s now scored twice in four games since getting back into the lineup, which could be a sign of good things to come given how streaky of a player he’s been in the past.
Looking Ahead for the Flames
The Flames have two games remaining to close out their week. The first will be an afternoon battle on the road versus the Nashville Predators, another team who has had its fair share of struggles in the early going. After the Preds, they will be right back in action on Sunday versus Dan Vladar and the Philadelphia Flyers.
