The Vegas Golden Knights (16-7-10) suffered their first regulation loss in December in a 6-3 decision against the Calgary Flames (15-17-4) Saturday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

The loss snapped Vegas’ eight-game point streak going back to Nov. 29.

Once again, the Golden Knights were without Jack Eichel (day-to-day) and Shea Theodore (week-to-week).

The Golden Knights trailed 2-0 and then 3-1 in the first period before falling into a 5-1 hole in the second period. Vegas made it exciting with a power-play goal that made it 5-3 late in the third, but it was far too little and far too late.

A brutal start and an especially sloppy 40 minutes of hockey doomed the Golden Knights, who are now 6-6-2 all-time in Calgary.

At first, neither team could settle the puck. However, the Flames took a 1-0 lead less than four minutes in on Mikael Backlund’s first of the night. Akira Schmid made a save on the initial shot, but Backlund put home the rebound.

Schmid paid the price on Calgary’s next goal, as Adam Klapka deflected Yan Kuznetsov’s point shot before completely barreling into the Vegas netminder. The puck was already in the net at the time of contact, but somehow it was not a penalty.

Vegas responded less than two minutes later when Mark Stone set up Reilly Smith on a breakaway. His backhand goal was his fourth tally of the year and first since Nov. 16.

However, the Flames burned Vegas on a rare 2-on-0 to restore their two-goal lead. Ryan Lomberg and Connor Zary broke free on a particularly disastrous change and blown coverage by Vegas, and Lomberg cashed in.

Four seconds later, Lomberg dropped the gloves with Jeremy Lauzon. Though Lomberg fell down initially, Lauzon allowed him to stand before pummeling him in a spirited fight.

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But the damage was done, as Vegas trailed 3-1 after 20 minutes.

The second period was more of the same, with the Flames outscoring the Golden Knights 2-1.

Once again, Flames captain Backlund struck first.

It was another rebound goal following a strong initial save by Schmid, but Backlund was there to finish the play and capitalize on a Vegas turnover in the neutral zone.

The next goal was a particularly tough break for the Golden Knights, as Joel Farabee recorded a shorthanded marker to make it a 5-1 game at 12:21. Mitch Marner had a glorious chance in the slot on the power play but elected not to shoot. He then turned it over, and Farabee was off to the races. He maneuvered his way around the sliding Noah Hanifin before beating Schmid top-shelf.

The Golden Knights showed signs of life when Kaedan Korczak scored just over two minutes later, It was an important goal that pulled the Golden Knights back within three going into the third period.

At long last, the Golden Knights found their game in the third period. In fact, they outshot the Flames 21-5 in the final 20 minutes. With a three-goal lead, the Flames had the luxury of sitting back, but the Golden Knights continued to push.

With just under four minutes remaining, Stone scored 12 seconds into Vegas’ second power play of the night, as Stone banked the puck off Flames goaltender Devin Cooley to make it a 5-3 game.

“Stone plays the deflection and the Knights get their third goal. Mark Stone on the power play.”

“That is a weird one from Mark Stone. That is just top-notch hand-eye coordination. What a weird bounce, Gary.”

🎙️ @Dan_DUva

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— Golden Knights Radio (@VGKRadioNetwork) December 21, 2025

Though Vegas made things interesting with the late goal, the Flames were able to seal the win with an empty-net tally by Jonathan Huberdeau, who was taken down but still managed to push the puck across the goal line.

It was a rough night for the Golden Knights, who fell behind early and never recovered.

The Golden Knights’ slow start was a major factor, but the club’s poor puck management arguably was a more significant one. The Golden Knights were sloppy, and the Flames made them pay dearly for those mistakes.

“We mismanaged the puck, and we give up a goal early because of that,” Bruce Cassidy said. “Now we’re scrambling back to the front of our net. We got the original save but we didn’t box out. … We’ve got to make sure we account for people in front of our net. That wasn’t a strength of our game tonight. It has been most of the year; we’ve been pretty good in that area. But three goals happen that way.”

With Eichel (and Theodore, to a lesser extent) out of commission, the Golden Knights needed to simplify their game. They did not.

“They wanted it a little bit more than we wanted it,” Lauzon said. “It felt like we tried to play a little bit too fancy. Especially on the road, sometimes you need to muck games. That was a game we needed to just play simple and play hard.”

Smith referenced Vegas’ breakouts as a primary culprit in the lopsided loss.

“I think we weren’t playing as a group of five,” he said. “We were leaving each other out to dry a little bit. It felt like they were on top of us pretty much on all our breakouts. So that’s kind of the engine to your offense, and I think that’s where we got into a lot of trouble.”

Goaltending also needs to be better. The entire team was sloppy, and Schmid was hung out to dry on multiple occasions, but he still surrendered five goals on 25 shots for an .800 save percentage.

The Golden Knights have a quick turnaround tomorrow against the Oilers, who are also skating in the second half of a back-to-back. Vegas will need to be much cleaner to withstand Edmonton’s offense. The Golden Knights also can’t afford to fall behind early. Chasing games wears on a team, and without Eichel in the lineup, the Golden Knights need to stick to the basics.