Flames finally win one, snap five-game skid with 4-2 victory in Anaheim

The Calgary Flames can finally put a number in the win column. After opening the season with five consecutive losses, Calgary beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Tuesday night at Honda Center to improve to 1-5-0.

Adam Klapka opened the scoring midway through the first period before Anaheim answered with goals from Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson. Rookie Aydar Suniev then pulled Calgary even in the second period, giving him goals in consecutive games and his first multi-point NHL performance.

For once, the Flames found the late goal instead of surrendering it. With the game tied 2-2 and just over four minutes remaining, Martin Pospisil scored at 15:38 of the third period to put Calgary ahead. Sharangovich added an empty-netter with 1:22 remaining, while Dustin Wolf stopped 23 shots to preserve the victory. Calgary also outshot Anaheim 36-25, a much more complete performance than several of the losses that produced its franchise-worst start.

One win does not erase an opening stretch that included five straight defeats and several lopsided results, but it gives Calgary something it badly needed: proof that the pieces can come together. The Flames had been outscored heavily through the opening week and entered Anaheim still searching for a way to turn competitive stretches into a full 60-minute result. Now the challenge is to make Tuesday more than a brief reprieve. Calgary has finally won one; the next test is whether it can build enough momentum to pull itself out of the hole created by the first five games.