The Colorado Avalanche returned home for the first of thee games at Pepsi Center this week without a key member of the lineup: Cale Makar. Makar is out with an upper body injury after leaving the game early in Boston as a result of a collision against the boards.

After taking an early, lead the Avs fell behind to the visiting Calgary Flames. The score was locked at 4-4 after 60 minutes, but Colorado couldn’t capitalize on early overtime chances and lost 5-4 to Calgary.

First Period

Ryan Graves got the Avs on the board just four and a half minutes into the game. Joonas Donskoi got him the puck inside the left circle, and he fired it into the back of the net. With Cale Makar out of the lineup tonight, Graves wasted no time in making the most of his opportunity for his fifth goal of the season.

The rest of the period passed without much excitement, the Avs fired nine shots to the Flames’ 10.

Colorado was unsuccessful on the one power play of the period after Oliver Kylington tripped Matt Calvert with six minutes remaining. The Avs failed to record one shot on goal in the following two minutes.

Second Period

Halfway through the game, the Flames tied the score. Oliver Kylington shot from near the blue line, and Derek Ryan poked the puck past Pavel Francouz in the crease.

Just 31 seconds later, the Avs re-tied the game. David Rittich saved Graves’ shot from afar, but Valeri Nichushkin got the rebound and while falling, put it in past Rittich who dove the wrong way.

The Flames would control the game from there. Matthew Tkachuk took advantage of a holding call against Mark Barberio and found the back of the net on a shot that Francouz barely reacted to, to tie the game 2-2.

Third Period

Off the opening face off, the Flames sent the puck into the Avs zone and despite Francouz setting up the defense to clear, Calgary reclaimed the puck. Andrew Mangiapane’s dead center shot went past Francouz and gave the Flames the 3-2 lead.

Tobias Rieder used some soccer moves to take the puck towards the net and send it to Michael Frolik. Frolik shot from the top left corner of the crease and put the Flames up by 4-2.

MacKinnon maintained control of the puck along the boards, and wove around defenders to center his shot before getting the puck past Rittich to cut the deficit to one.

The Flames got a power play soon after, but the Avs kept the momentum and held the score to 4-3, enabling them to tie the score six minutes later.

Doonski received the puck from MacKinnon and Andre Burakovsky, skated ahead of the Flames defense and shot it to the right of Rittich who could hardly react as the puck crossed the goal line. Doonski and MacKinnon each recorded two points tonight, while Burakovsky posted his 11th assist of the season.

OT

The Avs took a couple of shots early in over time, but the Flames came out on top. Two minutes into over time, Sean Monahan got ahead of the Avs defense and put the puck past Francouz to secure the 5-4 victory.

Colorado received a point, but lost for the first time in seven games.