CALGARY - Last in the NHL in mid-November, the red-hot Calgary Flames have clawed their way back to within one point of a playoff spot.
Leading the resurgence has been captain Mikael Backlund, who scored the opening goal on Wednesday, propelling Calgary to a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flames' captain is on a six-game point streak (five goals, four assists) and as the club's oldest player at age 36, his 10 goals and 25 points has him on pace to hit the 50-point mark for just the third time in his 17 NHL seasons.
鈥淗e's dragging the team into the fight and it's every night for him,鈥 said defenceman Rasmus Andersson, who scored his eighth goal. 鈥淗e's been unbelievable lately.鈥
Known primarily for his work centring the club's checking line, always tasked with shutting down the opposition's best players, Backlund is getting it done at both ends of the ice lately, leading the club with a plus-16.
鈥淰ery trustworthy in all situations, prepared to play all the time,鈥 praised Flames coach, Ryan Huska. 鈥淭hat's why he's had such a good stretch, it matters to him.鈥
With Sweden expected to unveil its Olympic hockey team on Friday, Andersson says he'd love to see Backlund be part of it.
鈥淎bsolutely,鈥 said Andersson. 鈥淗e's like fine wine, right? The older he gets, the better he gets, it feels like, and this stretch he's on is probably the best I've seen him play.鈥
On Nov. 12, the Flames were in 32nd place with a 4-12-2 record, four points back of second-last. They have the league's fifth-best record since at 14-6-2 (.687 point percentage), only trailing Colorado (.905), Minnesota (.804), Dallas (.739) and Buffalo (.696).
鈥淲e had a tough stretch to start the year, and it could have easily went the other way,鈥 said Huska. 鈥淚've talked a lot in the past about how our older players are the ones that drive our team, good or bad, but they don't waver, and I think their push, and we've talked about Mikael and Blake (Coleman) over the last while, but the push from those older guys has allowed us to get to this position.鈥
Calgary will wake on New Year's Day just one point back of the Los Angeles Kings, who occupy the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
鈥淪ome dark days early in the year with a tough stretch,鈥 admitted Backlund. 鈥淭he boys have been digging in and kept believing and just been working hard and staying focused on what's ahead and not losing sight of what we want to achieve here.鈥
Calgary has been nearly unbeatable at the Scotiabank Saddledome lately where they've reeled off five straight wins and are 10-1-1 in their last dozen games.
鈥淲e're in a good spot. I think we've just got to keep going, keep winning,鈥 said Jonathan Huberdeau, who scored his eighth goal. 鈥淲e know how tight the standings are, so we've just got to keep climbing.鈥
Getting the win was Dustin Wolf, who made 25 stops to win his eight straight start at home.
Rounding out the scoring was Yegor Sharangovich and Connor Zary, who scored in his second game in a row. Matt Coronato and MacKenzie Weegar each had a pair of assists.
鈥淓verybody's been playing well and contributing to the success and that's what we've got to do,鈥 said Huberdeau. 鈥淲e know that's the recipe of our team. When everybody's going, when we're playing four lines, and everybody is scoring some goals, and that's what we've been doing.鈥
Next up is the Nashville Predators on Saturday before the Flames wrap up their homestand against the Seattle Kraken.
鈥淚t feels good. Winning is fun. Best thing about this sport is to win games,鈥 said Backlund. 鈥淎nd we've been playing solid home, and we got to keep doing that.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Jan. 1, 2026.
