from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

The Calgary Flames fell to the St. Louis Blues by a 3-0 score at home Thursday, dropping their record this season to an ugly 2-5-1 mark. This was supposed to be their bounce-back year after a disastrous 2022-23 season – featuring a new coach in Ryan Huska, a new GM in Craig Conroy and a new-look lineup, but they’ve now lost four games in a row and have sunk to sixth place in the rather weak Pacific Division. After their loss to the Blues, Huska said his team deserved the boos they received from Flames fans, and defenseman Nikita Zadorov apologized to fans, saying the team “played like s***."

The Flames’ six defeats have come relatively easily for their opponents. Five of their losses have been by at least two goals, while all of their past four losses have come in regulation time, and they’ve been outscored 15-4 in those four games. This speaks to the all-around lack of competitiveness by Calgary, and it is a worrisome sign of what’s to come. It is still early enough for them to turn their season around, but let’s keep in mind they’ve now played approximately 10 percent of their season, and that’s a significant amount of time.

The Flames will be in the spotlight Sunday at the outdoor Heritage Classic. Their opponents and arch-rivals in Edmonton are similarly desperate after a terrible start to the season, and a loss to the Oilers would put up more red flags (and not good, Flames red flags) than Calgary has already raised this year. There are no excuses for the roster anymore. With a new management team and a tweaked lineup, the Flames will be exposed, one way or another, for the team they really are. And if they’re simply not a good team, rumored extensions for star forward Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin will be seen as rewarding mediocrity – or worse.

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