Makar’s second of the game, this time off a slap shot, at 5:35 of the third period pushed the lead to 5-1 before Schwartz scored 59 seconds later off a bumper pass from T.J. Hughes in the slot, snapping the puck in to make it 6-1 at 6:34. The assist marked Hughes’ first NHL point.
“A great pass to me and then ‘Schwartzy’ was just in the middle, and I kind of found him and then he had a great shot to put it away, so it felt really good,” Hughes said.
Backlund tipped a pass from Ryan Strome past Wedgewood at 7:17 to make it 6-2 before Bahl’s shot from the slot deflected in off Avalanche defenseman Noah Juulsen’s stick to cut the margin to 6-3 at 8:28.
“We’ll revisit things with them (Friday at practice),” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said, “and I think at this stage, it’s making sure we’re pushing them harder in the areas that we have to be better in, but also letting them know that they’ve done some good things that we need to keep on track with.”
A wrist shot by Schwartz bounced off Flames defenseman Jake Middleton and past Cooley at 9:41 for the 7-3 final.
“He’s been really good for us,” Bednar said of Schwartz. “A veteran guy. He’s an incredible team guy. He does a little bit of everything for you. He’s like a Swiss Army knife.”
NOTES: Forward Logan O’Connor, who missed Colorado’s first three games of the season with a lower-body injury, is taking time away from the Avalanche to be with his family after the sudden passing of his father, Myles O’Connor, the team announced before the game. … The Avalanche have recorded a point in 12 straight games against the Flames dating to Jan. 18, 2023 (11-0-1). It’s their second-longest active run versus a franchise, behind only the Sharks (14-0-1 from Nov. 13, 2021).