Calgary Flames takeaways from loss to Blue Jackets: At least no shutout

The Calgary Flames got their seventh straight loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets last night. Here are some takeaways from that game.

It was their seventh straight loss and the seventh straight game of breaking my heart. After they were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, some people thought that the Calgary Flames may lack the heart.

But we already know how head coach Glen Gulutzan feels about those people.

And last night, while the Flames lost 5-1, they didn’t play a bad game. Here are some takeaways from last night’s loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Old habits die hard

Last night, the Calgary Flames outshot the Blue Jackets 38-28 and still lost 5-1. But at least the Flames were on brand, right? The Flames have a knack of outplaying their opponents. During this seven-game losing streak, they’ve outshot and outplayed their opponents in six of those games. In fact, they’re one of the best puck-possession teams this season, but they just can’t get the results.

Last night, they played quite well in the second and third period. Not only did they outshoot and outhit the Blue Jackets, but they had almost double the amount of shot attempts (5v5) with 67 to 38 and had more than double the amount of scoring chances (5v5) with 40 compared to just 19 for the Blue Jackets.

Some may say it isn’t fair, but that’s life. The Flames also lead the league in missed shots. Just last night, they had 19 shots that either went wide or hit the post (all situations). It seems like old habits die hard with this team.

Spoiling the shutout party

The Calgary Flames were 21.4 seconds away from their second consecutive shutout. Until they scored last night, they had gone 127:21 without getting a goal. They’re really feeling the effects without their three highest scorers on the team right now.

But leave it to Chris Stewart, the brand new sniper for the team! He spoiled Sergei Bobrovsky‘s shutout last night with less than 22 seconds left and got his first goal as a Flame in the process as well.

Sorry Bob.

PK starting to take a fall

In these last few weeks, the Calgary Flames were excellent on the PK. But the last two games, they’ve somewhat crumbled. Against the LA Kings on Monday evening, all three goals against came when they were shorthanded and they let the Kings go 3/5 on the PP. Last night, the Blue Jackets were 1/3 on the PP and one of those goals came from Pierre-Luc Dubois, who net his first hat trick last night.

It may just be that they’re out of sync with a few players missing, and while it doesn’t seem like they’ve completely given it, it seems like they’ve given up in some areas.

Next: Flames to play two preseason games in China next season

What was your biggest takeaway from the game last night?

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