CALGARY — Nazem Kadri commemorated his 1,000th NHL game with a key second-period goal to lead the Calgary Flames to a 5-1 win on Wednesday over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Morgan Frost, Blake Coleman, Adam Klapka, and Mikael Backlund, into an empty net, also scored for Calgary (4-9-2). The Flames remain last in the league's overall standings, despite winning consecutive games for the first time.
Kirill Marchenko, with his team-leading sixth goal, had the lone tally for Columbus (7-6-0). The Blue Jackets have lost back-to-back games on the heels of a four-game winning streak.
Dustin Wolf made 42 saves for the win, improving to 4-8-1. Saddled with the loss was Jet Greaves, who had 21 stops. He falls to 3-4-0.
It wasn't long after the conclusion of the pre-game ceremony honouring Kadri that Calgary surged into the lead scoring twice in the opening 92 seconds – the tenth-fastest two goals to start a game in franchise history. Frost deflected in a Jonathan Huberdeau shot at 56 seconds, extending Huberdeau's point streak to six games (three goals, four assists). On the next shift, Coleman notched his team-leading sixth goal. The visitors answered back five minutes later on Marchenko's first short-handed goal of his career.
Takeaways Blue Jackets: Ranked last in the NHL on the penalty kill eight days ago at a meagre 60.7 per cent. Columbus was 2-for-2 on the PK on Wednesday to improve to 9-for-10 over its last five games. Marchenko's goal, the second breakaway during that same penalty kill, was the team's first shorthanded goal.
Flames: Inserted onto the blue line was 2020 second-rounder Yan Kuznetsov, who collected his first career point on Klapka's goal. The 23-year-old's second NHL game comes 22 months after his first. Kuznetsov has logged 227 AHL games. Coming out of the lineup was 2024 first-rounder Zayne Parekh, who was a healthy scratch for the third time in the last four games.
Key Moment With Calgary still nursing its 2-1 lead coming up on the halfway point of the second period, Joel Farabee neatly set up Kadri on a 2-on-1 with a perfect saucer pass that Kadri buried inside the near post for his fourth goal.
Key Stat Kadri is the 407th player in NHL history to play 1,000 games and the 61st player to score a goal in his 1000th game. He's the 13th player to reach that mark in a Flames uniform and just the second to score in his milestone game, joining Martin Gelinas (Dec. 9, 2003).
Up Next Blue Jackets: Visit the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Flames: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2025. Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press
