Winners: The Seattle Kraken
Coming into the 2026/27 season, many expected the Seattle Kraken to finish around the bottom of the standings in the Pacific Division, but on opening night, this was a team that looked absolutely dominant.
Whether it was the Flames making blunders, consistently giving up penalties or the Flames lack of ability to string passes together, the Kraken took full advantage, building a 5-0 lead before Calgary managed to get themselves on the board. Will this keep up throughout the year? It likely won't, but on the big occasion, it was the Kraken that rose to the pressure, and on a night where the Flames wanted to show out for their fans, it was the opposition that played villain successfully on the night.
Losers: Dustin Wolf
The biggest loser of the Kraken's great play and the Flames struggles was Dustin Wolf, and while he looked sharp for plenty of the second period, the talented goaltender was simply under the pump from the first puck drop.
Early on, the Kraken simply kept being gifted chances, and at the end of the night, Wolf saved 24 of the 30 shots he saw, one of the worst performances we've seen from No. 32 in his Flames career. Obviously, one game isn't going to tell us all we know about this season, but if the Flames can't play any better in front of Dustin, it's going to be a long, long few years for the talented young goaltender.
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