Hurricanes 1, Flames 0: Missed Chance in a Tight One
Some games don’t leave you angry; they leave you sighing. That was the mood for the Calgary Flames after running headlong into a well-structured Carolina team and a red-hot young goalie in Brandon Bussi. Calgary wasn’t bad, in fact, quite the opposite. For stretches, they pushed the pace, controlled the puck, and worked themselves into the kind of chances you usually expect to bury. But on this night, the finish never arrived.
Devin Cooley gave them every chance, playing with the calm presence he’s carried for the past two weeks. Calgary’s skaters did their part, too: responsible hockey, layers in the defensive zone, and pressure when they could get it. But in a low-event game where one bounce can turn into a crack in the dam, the Hurricanes found their moment, and the Flames didn’t.
The 1-0 score doesn’t tell a story of collapse—it tells a story of a team still learning how to tilt these close games their way.
Key Point One: Flames’ Devin Cooley Deserved Better
Devin Cooley was steady again, turning aside 16 shots and tracking the puck with the confidence that has defined his recent run. His numbers stayed strong, and he played well enough to win; he didn’t get the offensive support he needed.
Key Point Two: The Flames Created Chances, Nothing Finished
Calgary actually generated some of the best looks of the night, but they couldn’t solve Brandon Bussi, who seemed to get bigger with every save. The Flames pushed, cycled, and worked through traffic, but the final touch never showed up.
Key Point Three: Flames’ Coach Ryan Huska Liked His Team’s Tight Structure
Ryan Huska liked a lot of his team’s game, and you could see why. Calgary kept its shape, protected the middle, and avoided the sloppy mistakes that sink teams on the road. In a game with so little space, though, even one missed assignment can swing the outcome—and it did.
Final Thoughts from the Flames’ Perspective
This wasn’t a setback so much as a reminder of where the Flames are right now: competitive, organized, and capable of hanging with anyone when they’re locked in. What they still need is the finish that turns good performances into points.
The positive? The effort didn’t sag, and the coaching staff’s structure continues to show itself on nights when offense is hard to come by. Cooley’s emergence also remains one of the best stories of Calgary’s season; he looks freer, more confident, and more settled than ever.
The Flames have been on a quiet roll lately, and one low-scoring loss in Carolina doesn’t erase that. Their next challenge is simple: keep playing this way and add one more goal.