CALGARY – The fear, understandably, is that the Calgary Flames just set the tone for what a tear-it-down rebuild can look like.

Sure, plenty were prepared for multi-goal blowouts, rookie mistakes and losses in bunches.

But the failure to rise to an occasion marked by a stirring pre-game celebration of the Dome they’ll depart in six months is a troubling sign.

“It’s embarrassing,” said Zach Whitecloud, in as plain a term as needed following a 6-1 opening-night humiliation at home against a pedestrian Seattle Kraken club Thursday.

“It's going to test the group's character, and we'll see how we react coming in tomorrow.

“That one, in front of our home crowd, opening night of the last year of the Dome… unacceptable. We have to hold each other accountable for that, and what the result was. And we will, and we'll move forward from it. We'll learn from it, and make sure something like that doesn't happen again. If things start to get out of hand like that, we have to dig ourselves out of that and come together as a group.”

Sure, this young, growing squad will be outskilled and outscored on many nights this season.

That’s part........

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