The Saddledome’s final season was supposed to be a celebration. Four games in, the Calgary Flames are still looking for their first win.
Calgary lost 7-3 to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, Oct. 8, and is now 0-4 to start the 2026-27 season.
The Flames have been outscored 23-6, and lost every game by at least three goals. They’re the only team in the NHL without a point, with a league-worst minus-17 goal differential.
Four games, four losses
Oct. 1: Seattle 6, Calgary 1, at the Saddledome
Oct. 3: Vancouver 4, Calgary 1, in Vancouver
Oct. 4: Seattle 6, Calgary 1, in Seattle
Oct. 8: Colorado 7, Calgary 3, at the Saddledome
Calgary scored once in each of its first three games. Its three goals Thursday matched that total.
Through four games, the Flames are scoring 1.5 goals a game and giving up nearly six.
Tied after one, then gone
For one period on Thursday, the Flames kept up.
Colorado’s Devon Toews opened the scoring late in the first. Less than two minutes later, Calgary’s Adam Klapka tied it with a wrist shot after working around defenceman Josh Manson. It was 1-1 after 20 minutes.
Then Colorado scored three times in less than five minutes in the second period: Toews again, then Cale Makar, then Nathan MacKinnon.
The Avalanche added two more early in the third to go up 6-1. Mikael Backlund and Kevin Bahl scored to make it 6-3, before Jaden Schwartz added Colorado’s seventh.
Makar finished with two goals and an assist. Toews and Schwartz each scored twice, and MacKinnon had a goal and two assists. Calgary goalie Devin Cooley made 23 saves on 30 shots.
The Flames outshot themselves out of nothing: 29 shots to Colorado’s 30. But they went 0-for-2 on the power play, and won just 41 per cent of their faceoffs.
A Calgary kid did the damage
One of Colorado’s top players Thursday grew up in Calgary.
Makar, born and raised in Calgary, scored twice against his hometown team, with family and friends in the stands.
“He loves playing in Calgary,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.
Colorado has now earned at least a point in 12 straight games against Calgary, going 11-0-1 since January 2023.
‘It’s time we do that on Saturday’
Flames captain Mikael Backlund, who had a goal on eight shots, didn’t hide his frustration.
“It’s obviously really tough and hard and frustrating to lose again,” Backlund said.
He said the team started well but has to play a full game. “We haven’t done that yet and it’s time we do that on Saturday.”
Head coach Ryan Huska said the coaching staff would review the game at Friday’s practice, and demand more from players where the team has struggled.
The Saddledome’s last season
This is the Flames’ 44th and final season at the Scotiabank Saddledome, their home since it opened in October 1983.
It was built in about 26 months, with its famous saddle-shaped roof held up by a cable system engineers compared to a tennis racket. It hosted events at the 1988 Winter Olympics, and was home to the Flames’ 1989 Stanley Cup team and their 2004 run to the final. Read how the Saddledome was built here.
The Flames have special events planned all season. On Oct. 24, when Detroit visits, they’ll celebrate the 2004 playoff run.
The last game is already sold out
The Flames’ struggles haven’t cooled demand for a final goodbye.
The last scheduled regular-season game at the Saddledome, on Saturday, April 10, 2027, against Vancouver, sold out almost as soon as single-game tickets went on sale in August. Resale prices soon reached nearly $1,500. Read that story here.
If the Flames make the playoffs, the Dome could host a few more games.
Scotia Place is rising next door
While the Flames struggle inside the Saddledome, its replacement is going up beside it.
Scotia Place, the new $1.22-billion event centre, hit a major milestone in September, when crews installed the final structural steel beam in the main arena, completing about 7,760 tonnes of steel. It’ll seat 18,400 for hockey, and up to 20,000 for concerts. Read that story here.
The City says it’s still on track to open for the 2027-28 season. After that, the Saddledome is set to be torn down.
Next up: Anaheim, twice
The Flames host the Anaheim Ducks tonight, Saturday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. at the Saddledome.
They play Anaheim again on Tuesday in California, then visit Vegas on Thursday. They’re back home on Sunday, Oct. 18, against Carolina.
The first Battle of Alberta is Oct. 28, in Edmonton.
Sources
Game results and box score, National Hockey League, October 2026
Scotia Place: frequently asked questions, City of Calgary
Comments
Conversation