If you’re the Calgary Flames, it can’t be fun knowing you’re going to have to deal with having Macklin Celebrini in your division for at least the better part of the next decade.
When he’s only a few months past his 19th birthday and is scoring two goals and adding two more assists against you, it sure feels like it’s going to be a problem.
Celebrini wasn’t the only reason the San Jose Sharks (17-14-3) cruised to what was ultimately a comfortable 6-3 win over the Flames (13-17-4) on Tuesday night in Northern California, but the Calgary crew certainly had no answers for the burgeoning star.
With seemingly every Flames game serving as a referendum on whether they should embrace being the second-to-last placed team in the NHL and go full-tank, watching the No. 1 overall pick from the 2024 Draft put up four points against sure looks like a compelling argument for bottoming-out.
When you consider that the No. 1 overall pick from the 2023 NHL Draft, Connor Bedard, also had a four-point game against the Flames earlier this season, Team Tank’s argument starts looking even stronger. The kids these days are pretty darn good. Would sure be nice to have someone similar.
Now, Celebrini’s heroics only tell part of the story of Tuesday’s game. The Flames rebounded impressively from the Sharks scoring on their first two shots of the night and were down 3-2 heading into the third.
But it was all Sharks in the final 20 minutes.
“I felt like we kind of played their style all night,” Flames winger Blake Coleman told reporters. “It was more of a track meet, run-and-gun type of game and that’s generally not the way that we find success.”
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s defeat:
Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow (back) is congratulated by Zack Ostapchuk after scoring against the Flames.
BOUNCES
Dustin Wolf’s stat-line wasn’t pretty against the Sharks.
But it would be pretty hard to pin this one on him.
Yes, it’s true that he stopped only 20-of-25 shots, but with apologies to anyone who thinks this sounds like making excuses, there were some truly weird bounces.
The Sharks’ first goal took a bizarre deflection off Rasmus Andersson. On their second, every Flames player seemed to think icing was going to be called and there wasn’t much Wolf could do when there was no whistle and the puck bounced right onto Barclay Goodrow’s stick. He couldn’t miss.
There were more, too, and while the Flames were critical of their performance as a team, even they had to acknowledge that puck-luck didn’t feel like it was on their side.
“If we’re being honest, a couple lucky bounces,” Andersson said. “The first one probably goes 10-feet wide and it hits my leg and goes in. They got a couple weird bounces more and they gained momentum from that.”
Flames forward Blake Coleman (right) celebrates his goal against the Sharks by Mikael Backlund.
EVERY TIME
It’s not a streak that’s going to go down in any official NHL record books, but it’s simply got to be pointed out.
When Coleman’s dad, Rusty, joins the Flames on their Dads Trips, his son doesn’t stop scoring.
The 34-year-old scored in both games the Flames played on their last Dads Trip, in early 2024, and then did it again with goals against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night and then potted another against the Sharks.
His first-period marker gave the Flames life after a frustrating start and it was a pretty one, too.
If Rusty wants to keep showing up, the Flames might want to reserve him a place on the plane.
Flames winger Ryan Lomberg celebrates his goal against the Sharks with teammates.
OPENING HIS TALLY
The Flames count on Ryan Lomberg for a lot of this .
Scoring isn’t one of them.
The 31-year-old fourth-liner is a leader in the locker-room, a constant source of positive energy and a guy who will stand up for his teammates against anyone in the league.
Even a guy like that, though, wants to bury the puck in the back of the net every once in a while.
Lomberg scored only three goals last season and hadn’t lit the lamp yet in 2025-26, but he brought his career total to 31 when he tied the game in the first period.