Calgary Flames In Anaheim: Yup, It’s As Bad As You Think

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Calgary can’t win in Anaheim. Hot sports take right? Well as much as we all hate to keep harping on it, it is a story and it’s rearing it’s ugly head 3 games into the regular season. The schedule creators gave the Flames no reprieve or chance to gain some traction as they fly out to sunny California in game #3 of the 2017-18 NHL season to try and win in the Ducks building for the first time since 1965 (Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but it might as well be the truth). Here’s a look at the Flames and Ducks rivalry away from the Saddledome, which really hasn’t been much of a rivalry. Don’t read this while eating:

• Consecutive losses in Anaheim

Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images

29. 29 straight to the Ducks in Anaheim at Honda Center. That’s insanity. The streak started on 4/25/06, but the Flames also haven’t won a regular season game in Anaheim since 1/19/04. The Flames own an abysmal 9-43-6 record against the Mighty/Ducks since they joined the NHL back in 1994. Oddly enough the Flames have only been shutout twice on the road during that time (they’ve been shutout twice at home over that streak as well).

• Playoff Wins

4/25/06. That’s the last time the Flames won a game in Anaheim. Their overall playoff record against the Ducks is 4-12-0.

• Captains

The last time the Flames won a regular season game in Anaheim Jarome Iginla was in his first season as Flames Captain. He was 26, he’s currently 40. Steve Rucchin was the Mighty Ducks Captain and he last played in the NHL in 2006-07 for the Atlanta Thrashers.

Photo By Dale MacMillan/Getty Images

• Coaches

Darryl Sutter was the last Flames bench boss to set foot in Anaheim and come out in the right side of the win column. Since then, Jim Playfair, Mike Keenan, Brent Sutter, Bob Hartley and Glen Gulutzan have tried, but none have been able to get a W.

• Players

300+ players have worn the Flames C since the last time Calgary won a regular season game in Anaheim. 300+ and not 1 win!!!!!????

• World Leaders

There have been 3 US Presidents to occupy the White House since January 2004. There have been 4 Canadian Prime Ministers in that time frame.

• Youth

Johnny Gaudreau was 10. Sean Monahan was 9. Matthew Tkachuk was 6. Current Flames 1st round pick Juuso Valimaki was 6 as well.

• Around The NHL

The Coyotes were still known as the Phoenix Coyotes. The Atlanta Thrashers were still in existence. The Columbus Blue Jackets weren’t a franchise yet. The Ducks were still the Mighty Ducks (groan).

2003-04 was the last season before the year long NHL Lockout of the 2004-2005 season.

That season is also the last time the Flames played in the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3. Not a good year.

Is this the year the Flames finally break the “curse” in Anaheim? Who knows. The current Flames seem to get wrapped up in the Ducks nonsense when they play there and get it handed to them. Calgary always seems all too eager to get down in the gutter with the Ducks and it clearly never works out well for them. It is odd though that 5 different coaches could bring in that many different teams, with that many different player combinations, over that many years and still come up empty. I’d like to say that this is the year the Flames walk out of Honda Center with their heads held high after finally snapping the streak, but how many times have we all said “this is the year the Flames snap the streak in Anaheim”?