CALGARY, Alberta — The Colorado Avalanche are trying to win games to maintain their playoff spot while the Calgary Flames want to improve theirs. It was a fast game that led to a lot of turnovers by both teams and a lack of flow to the game in the first period. The Flames would try to fight back with a late push in the third, but that would not be enough. Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf put up one heck of a fight against an offensively loaded team that never stops coming.

First Period

The momentum never swung one way or another for over half the period. Neither the Avalanche nor the Flames could gain any control of the puck at all. It was a quick period, going the first nine minutes and 21 seconds without a face-off. With six minutes and 39 seconds left in the period, Charlie Coyle dumped the puck in the Flames’ zone. Ross Colton grabbed it and threw the biscuit up to Ryan Lindgren on the left point. Lindgren tossed the puck on net and it made its way past goaltender Dustin Wolf. The Flames managed only two shots on Scott Wedgewood in the period while the Avalanche. The period ended with Colorado up by one.

Second Period

The Avalanche brought out the fight to start the period against the Flames. Their puck possession and pressure on the Flames did not let up almost the entire time. Calgary headed to the penalty box after an interference call on Blake Coleman, but the Avalanche failed to set up in the zone. Wedgewood stepped up several times in the period, once stopping a breakaway from former Avalanche Dryden Hunt. With just under eight minutes to go in the period, Joel Hanley held Cale Makar as tried to break free to take a shot. It forced a penalty shot that Makar over handled and the puck rolled off of his stick. With four minutes left in the second, Logan O’Connor gathers the puck after a battle in the corner. O’Connor saw Parker Kelly sprinting up the ice and tossed a pass his way. Kelly caught the pass on the fly and threw it past Wolf to take a 2–0 lead.

Third Period

The Flames were looking to take care of business right away to start the third period. They put a ton of pressure on the Avalanche and kept them on their toes early. Just under three minutes into the period, the Avalanche tried to clear the puck out of the zone. Matt Coronato attempted a shot from the top of the slot that rebounded right to Coleman for the easy tap in.

About two minutes later, Wolf was attempting to slow down the puck behind his own net. Colton came crashing in to apply the pressure and steal the puck. He threw the puck out to the slot where Kelly was pinching in and Kelly slammed in his second of the night.

Colorado was feeling more pressure, as they had killed one penalty off already and were attempting to kill another. Calgary was working the perimeter, trying to find a soft spot in the Colorado defense. Jonathan Huberdeau ripped a slap shot from high in the slot and the puck bounced off of Wedgewood and high into the air. It would land behind Wedgewood and then trickle in to make the score 3–2 Avalanche.

With less than two minutes remaining, the Calgary coach pulled Wolf to add an extra attacker; Valeri Nichushkin then clinched the victory with a 200-foot empty-net goal. The final was 4–2.

Observations from the Mountaintop

Colorado’s depth scoring came through tonight. Parker Kelly, a native of Alberta, had a multi-goal night in front of about 30 friends and family. Joel Kiviranta did not score, but came close several times. The depth is getting comfortable in the offensive zone and that will be extremely dangerous to other teams. Unfortunately, the team did not play well defensively. They had too many giveaways, leading to too many opportunities for the Flames.

Next Game

The Avalanche head home to Denver to take on the Dallas Stars on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. MT. The game will be available on Altitude in the Avalanche market and on TNT outside of the market.