The Calgary Flames participated in another edition of Hockey Day in Canada on Saturday afternoon. Although the city of Calgary has never hosted the annual event, the NHL team has always had a marquee matchup on the day.
Usually, the Flames take on a regional rival like the Vancouver Canucks or Edmonton Oilers; however, this year, they drew the short straw and are the only Canadian team facing off against an American squad.
Their opponent is the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are at the end of their western Canada road trip. Furthermore, the trip has been pretty special since captain Steven Stamkos scored his 500th career goal on Wednesday night. Currently, the Lightning are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and should be in contention to defend their Eastern Conference championship for the fourth straight season.
Meanwhile, the Flames are watching games and points slip away, and if they don’t find a winning formula soon, they could eventually miss the playoffs this year. Historically, they have a winning record on Hockey Day in Canada, 10-5-5-1, so playing in a marquee matchup on this special day could serve as the spark they need to get their act together.
Let’s take a look back at the ups and downs of the Flames’ performances on this day.
Flames’ First Decade on Hockey Day in Canada 2000 – 2010
Before the Winnipeg Jets came back home in 2011, only six Canadian teams existed, providing fans with epic head-to-head matchups on a day to celebrate the hockey community across the country. In their first game back on Feb. 19, 2000, the Flames took on their provincial rivals, the Oilers, and walked away with a 3-2 overtime win. Additionally, Marc Savard had two goals in the game, including the winner, while Fred Brathwaite earned the win for Calgary.
After starting this new yearly tradition on a high note, the Flames would drop both contests during the next two seasons to begin a five-game winless streak. Sadly, in 2001 they lost to the Oilers in a 3-1 rematch before dropping a 4-2 contest to the Montreal Canadiens in 2002. However, in the following season (2003), the Flames tied the Canucks in their first meeting, 2-2, with Jarome…
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