The Calgary Flames celebrated in style on Wednesday night, earning back-to-back wins for the first time this season with a decisive 5–1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Nazem Kadri, suiting up for his milestone 1,000th NHL game, led the way with a goal and a spirited performance that ignited the Saddledome crowd. The Flames came out firing early, scoring twice in the opening minute and never looking back.
Morgan Frost opened the scoring just 56-seconds in, redirecting a shot past Columbus goaltender Jet Greaves. Moments later, Blake Coleman doubled the lead with his fifth of the season. The Blue Jackets responded later in the first with a shorthanded goal from Kirill Marchenko, who beat Dustin Wolf five-hole on a breakaway.
But the night belonged to Kadri and the Flames. Early in the second period, Kadri buried a top-shelf finish off a feed from Joel Farabee to restore Calgary’s two-goal cushion. Less than a minute later, Adam Klapka made it 4–1, holding onto the puck on an odd-man rush and ripping a shot glove-side. Mikael Backlund added an empty net goal to seal the deal.
Wolf stopped every shot he needed to the rest of the way, making a career-high 42 saves, picking up his fourth win of the year to move to 4–7–1 on the season.
The Flames improve to 4–9–2, while Columbus falls to 7–6–0.
Three Takeaways
1. Kadri’s milestone moment
Nazem Kadri became the 407th player in NHL history to skate in 1,000 career games — and he made it count. The veteran centre not only scored a big goal but brought energy and poise all night. Kadri now leads the Flames in scoring with 11 points (4G, 7A) through 15 games.
2. Quick strikes define the night
The Flames’ offence found its rhythm through bursts of momentum. They scored twice within the first 92-seconds of the game and later added a pair of goals just 37-seconds apart in the second period. That kind of timing proved too much for Columbus to handle.
3. Kuznetsov earns first NHL point
Defenceman Yan Kuznetsov, recalled from the AHL Wranglers on Tuesday, made his season debut and recorded his first career NHL point with an assist on Klapka’s goal. Despite a few early jitters in his own zone, the 23-year-old settled in and showed flashes of composure as the game went on.