Calgary Flames Get The Last Laugh Against Seattle Kraken As Matt Coronato Delivers Career Best Game

Flames top Kraken 6-2 as Coronato posts career-high four points© Getty via AFP

Matt Coronato had been building toward something all season, and Friday night at the Saddledome, it finally arrived. The 22-year-old forward posted a career-high four points, a goal and three assists, as the Calgary Flames dismantled the Seattle Kraken 6-2 on October 30. The win was Calgary's fifth straight at home and a pointed response to two humiliating 6-1 losses the Kraken handed them in the season's opening week. This time, the Flames never trailed and never looked back.

Coronato, Flames Make a Statement After Season-Opening Losses to Kraken

Those back-to-back 6-1 beatings were hard to forget, especially since Seattle handed them both in the first week. So when the Kraken returned to Calgary, there was something unsaid in the air. Coronato settled it quickly. His work across all three zones set the tone throughout the night, and by the end he had nine points in his last two weeks of play, trailing only Connor McDavid on that leaderboard.

He was not alone. Joel Farabee added a goal and two assists. Morgan Frost and Matvei Gridin each had a goal and an assist. Aydar Suniev scored what turned into the game-breaking goal, a one-timer from Frost's cross-ice feed that he buried under the crossbar to break a 1-1 tie midway through the second period. That moment flipped the game entirely. Ryan Strome also found the net as Calgary went 2-for-2 on the power play, extending a stretch where they have scored nine power-play goals on 20 opportunities over their last seven games.

Dustin Wolf made his first start since October 15 and stopped 21 shots to improve to 2-4-0. Philipp Grubauer lasted just 14 shots for Seattle before being replaced by Joey Daccord, who made 12 saves in relief.

Backlund Hits a Franchise Milestone as Kraken's Penalty Kill Crumbles Again

Mikael Backlund quietly crossed another line Friday night. His assist on Farabee's goal gave him 610 career points, enough to pass Johnny Gaudreau and move into sole fifth place on the Flames' all-time scoring list. He is now six points behind Joe Nieuwendyk for fourth.

For Seattle, the problems are harder to ignore. Their penalty kill has surrendered 10 goals on 17 attempts over the past six games. That is not a rough patch. That is a structural issue. Freddy Gaudreau scored his team-leading seventh goal, and Mackie Samoskevich added the other for the Kraken, but two goals and a collapsing kill unit is not a formula that travels well.

Calgary now hits the road Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche. The Kraken and Flames meet again next Wednesday, this time in Seattle.