CALGARY — The Colorado Avalanche turned a tight first period into a runaway Thursday, burying the Calgary Flames 7-3 at Scotiabank Saddledome behind three-point nights from Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. Devon Toews and Jaden Schwartz each scored twice, while Scott Wedgewood stopped 26 shots in his first start of the season.
Key takeaways
- Colorado improved to 3-1-0 one night after a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
- The Flames remained winless at 0-4-0 despite goals from Adam Klapka, Mikael Backlund and Kevin Bahl.
- Makar finished with two goals and three points, and MacKinnon also recorded three points.
- T.J. Hughes collected the first NHL point of his career on Schwartz’s first goal.
- Jonathan Castagna registered an assist in his NHL debut for Calgary.
Avalanche break it open in the middle frame
Colorado grabbed the first lead at 15:54 of the opening period. Toews drove to the blue paint and got his stick on Makar’s hard feed, redirecting it beyond Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley.
The Flames answered 1:36 later. Klapka pulled the puck around Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson with a toe drag before wiring a wrist shot over Wedgewood’s blocker to make it 1-1.
That was as close as Calgary would get for most of the night. Toews restored the Colorado lead at 6:45 of the second, sending a point shot through a crowd and over Cooley’s right shoulder. Makar added to the margin at 9:16 with a wrist shot from above the right circle, then MacKinnon blasted a high-slot slap shot past Cooley’s blocker at 11:39 for a 4-1 cushion.
Brett Kulak contributed two assists for the Avalanche, who produced their offensive surge after playing in Winnipeg on Wednesday.
Late goals seal Calgary’s fourth straight loss
Makar struck again 5:35 into the third period, hammering home a slap shot to stretch the Colorado lead to 5-1. Schwartz followed 59 seconds later, taking a bumper pass from Hughes in the slot and snapping it home. Hughes’ assist was his first point in the League.
Calgary briefly found some pushback. Backlund tipped Ryan Strome’s pass past Wedgewood at 7:17, and Bahl’s slot attempt went in off the stick of Colorado defenseman Noah Juulsen at 8:28 to narrow the gap to three.
Schwartz ended any thought of a comeback at 9:41. His wrist shot deflected off Flames defenseman Jacob Middleton and slipped past Cooley for the final 7-3 score.
Cooley finished with 23 saves for Calgary. Wedgewood, making his season debut as Colorado’s starter, handled 26 shots in the Avalanche win.
