Alexandre Texier had a goal and two assists, Jacob Fowler made 28 saves and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Wednesday night.

The Flames have opened January with three straight losses. In Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens, they looked like a team that is tumbling back toward last place. The story of the game was written in a five-minute span in the middle period, with the host Habs scoring three times in quick succession.

The Calgary Flames lost to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, 4-1. That leaves them stuck in one of the league’s least comfortable places. Fourteenth in the Western Conference, five points out of a playoff spot,

The Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames hit the ice in NHL action at Bell Centre on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game airs on ESPN+. Montreal earned a 4-3 victory on the road its last time out on Jan. 4 against the Dallas Stars. Calgary's last game was a home loss, 5-1, to the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 5.

Though the Flames will by no means be buyers at the trade deadline, they may not be in as big a rush to move on from some of their veterans as fans would like. That includes Blake Coleman, who, with one additional season remaining on his contract, may still be in a Flames sweater once the trade deadline passes.

The deficit’s getting smaller: The Canadiens outscored Calgary 3-1 in the second period. While it remains Montreal’s worst period, it keeps chipping away at the albatross. For those keeping score at home, the deficit in the period is now 54-45.

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.