It took over 13 years, but the Calgary Flames have finally won a regular season game in Anaheim.
Thanks to a 43-save shutout from Flames goalie Mike Smith, they were able to pick up a 2-0 win. They also collected two points at the Honda Center for the first time since Jan. 19, 2004.
If you include their playoff matchups, it was actually a 29-game losing streak (the Flames’ last win game in Apr. of 2006).
Finally, Calgary can move forward knowing the “curse” is behind them.
“We probably could have done this in the spring in Game 2 (of the first round, a 3-2 loss),” Mikael Backlund said, per NHL.com. “I thought we were the way better team then, but they got the lucky bounce. We were like ‘Oh, it’s the curse,’ but now it’s nice to finally break it.”
Smith was a big reason why Calgary was able to snap their skid. The Flames have had some inconsistent play between the pipes over the last few years, which is why they went out and got the veteran from Arizona during the off-season.
It’s still early, but Smith is already starting to pay off for Calgary.
“When you play a team that long and you’re not on the winning part of it, it gets old pretty fast,” Smith said, per the OC Register. “I know I’ve been on teams where it’s happened to me so I wanted to help this team get over that hump.”
The longest losing streak in one building in NHL history is over. #Flames end their Honda Center curse at 25 with a 2-0 win over the Ducks.
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) October 10, 2017