News Flames Team Notes

[Calgary Flames]

The Wranglers are nearly done their mammoth road trip

When the Calgary Flames moved their primary minor league team from Stockton to Calgary in 2022, they knew there would be some trade-offs.

When the Flames’ American Hockey League affiliate was the Stockton Heat, they were geographically close to several rival teams and so lengthy road trips weren’t really necessary. The California teams could alternate playing a few games at a time away from home and it wasn’t all too onerous.

But with the Flames and Wranglers sharing the same building, far, far away from most of the rest of the AHL, well, some sacrifices had to be made. Among them? In each of the Wranglers first four seasons in existence, they’ve had a long road trip on the books.

In 2022-23, they finished off their inaugural season with a six game trip to Coachella Valley, San Diego and Abbotsford. (They went 4-2-0).

In 2023-24, they had a seven game mid-season trek to Coachella Valley, Bakersfield, San Jose, Coachella Valley again, and Ontario. (They went 2-4-1.)

Last season, they had a seven-gamer seeing them make stops in San Jose, San Diego, Tucson and Manitoba. (They went 4-2-1.)

Currently, they’re in the midst of a mammoth 10-game trip, with Tuesday and Wednesday’s games in Abbotsford serving as their seventh and eighth games of the roadie. They’re in uncharted waters now, and they’ll close out their trip this weekend in Ontario against the Reign. They’re 4-3-1 so far.

Onto the stats!

Andrew Basha – LW/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

20; Calgary’s second round pick (41st overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 5’11”, 174 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 8th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	17	1	3	4	3	4	3	15	9.38
2024-25 (WHL)	23	9	20	29	24	12	9	73	31.22

Basha suited up once this week, playing on the third line.

Jacob Battaglia – LW/RW, Kingston Frontenacs, OHL​

19; Calgary’s second round pick (62nd overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 196 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 7th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	26	11	7	18	14	12	10	77	18.34
2024-25 (OHL)	68	40	50	90	67	57	45	239	35.06

Good news: Battaglia had an assist this week. Bad news: his offensive output remains lower than it was last season by a decent margin.

Parker Bell – LW/RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

22; Calgary’s fifth round pick (155th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 192 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	0.00
2024-25 (AHL)	61	7	5	12	9	12	9	67	7.84

Bell played twice; he played Tuesday on the fourth line and Wednesday on the first line due to Carter King’s absence. He’s awaiting his first point of the season.

Hunter Brzustewicz – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

20; Vancouver’s third round pick (75th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Vancouver; 6’0″, 190 pounds; shoots right; FN’s 3rd-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	22	4	8	12	9	6	5	26	21.74
2024-25 (AHL)	70	5	27	32	19	20	13	75	18.22

Brzustewicz continues to be a fixture on the top pairing for the Wranglers. He had an assist this week.

Nick Cicek – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

25; free agent signing; 6’3″, 201 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	22	2	5	7	4	6	3	24	12.68
2024-25 (DEL)	50	3	14	17	10	16	9	75	9.81

Cicek continues to be a fixture on a pairing with Brzustewicz. He didn’t have any points this week.

Lucas Ciona – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

22; Calgary’s sixth round pick (173rd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 210 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	16	1	1	2	2	1	1	14	4.98
2024-25 (AHL)	68	8	14	22	18	17	14	91	12.89

Ciona played twice this week, both times on the fourth line.

Matvei Gridin – RW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

19; Calgary’s first round pick (28th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 182 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 4th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	20	8	13	21	16	15	13	60	41.84
2024-25 (QMJHL)	56	36	43	79	58	40	32	236	32.85

Gridin continues to produce very consistently. He had an assist this week.

Artem Grushnikov – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

22; Dallas’ second round pick (48th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; Acquired in a trade with Dallas; 6’1″, 203 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0.00
2024-25 (AHL)	61	1	4	5	3	4	3	43	3.27

Grushnikov is a third pairing fixture for the Wranglers, playing twice with Simon Mack this week. He’s awaiting his first point of the season.

Trevor Hoskin – RW, Merrimack College Warriors, NCAA​

21; Calgary’s fourth round pick (106th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 175 pounds; shoots right

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	13	4	10	14	9	7	6	24	34.70
2024-25 (NCAA)	36	12	27	39	29	28	23	80	17.23

Hoskin played once this week and didn’t register any points.

Axel Hurtig – D, Calgary Hitmen, WHL​

20; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 202 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	21	2	1	3	2	3	2	30	3.54
2024-25 (WHL)	55	5	11	16	12	14	10	66	7.20

Hurtig suited up in three games this week and didn’t register any points.

Eric Jamieson – D, University of Denver Pioneers, NCAA​

20; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 200 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	15	5	5	10	6	9	6	31	24.00
2024-25 (WHL)	66	14	22	36	26	27	19	175	13.51

Jamieson had an assist this week. He continues producing consistently for the Pioneers.

Rory Kerins – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

23; Calgary’s sixth round pick (174th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 175 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 15th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	19	7	12	19	15	11	9	46	39.85
2024-25 (AHL)	63	33	28	61	52	40	35	135	38.59

Kerins didn’t hit the scoresheet this week.

Carter King – C, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

23; free agent signing; 5’11”, 190 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	19	2	0	2	2	2	2	16	4.19
2024-25 (NCAA)	44	21	22	43	31	16	14	116	35.18

King scored the game-winning goal for the Wranglers on Tuesday night, but was absent from the lineup on Wednesday. We’re assuming it was injury or illness related because his performance wouldn’t dictate a scratch.

Hunter Laing – C/RW, Saskatoon Blades, WHL​

19; Calgary’s sixth round pick (170th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’5″, 205 pounds; shoots right

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	25	13	13	26	21	14	13	59	25.75
2024-25 (WHL)	64	25	23	48	40	35	29	153	18.57

Laing had three assists over three games this week.

Aidan Lane – LW/RW, Harvard University Crimson, NCAA​

18; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 192 pounds; shoots right

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	9	3	0	3	3	3	3	25	7.65
2024-25 (OHL)	13	7	6	13	10	10	7	36	26.49

Lane had no points this weekend.

Jakob Leander – D, HV71, U20 Nationell​

18; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 196 pounds; shoots right

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	20	1	5	6	5	6	5	25	4.92
2024-25 (J20)	39	1	5	6	3	5	3	33	2.52

HV71 was off this week.

Jaden Lipinski – C, University of Maine Black Bears, NCAA​

20; Calgary’s fourth round pick (112th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 204 pounds; shoots right

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	14	2	5	7	5	7	5	24	16.11
2024-25 (WHL)	59	17	41	58	45	30	27	134	24.34

Maine was off this week.

Cade Littler – C, University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, NCAA​

21; Calgary’s seventh round pick (219th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 197 pounds; shoots right

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	12	2	3	5	4	4	3	13	15.00
2024-25 (NCAA)	33	7	2	9	8	9	8	30	9.82

Littler had a goal over the weekend.

Yan Matveiko – C, Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, MHL​

19; Calgary’s seventh round pick (211th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 150 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	27	12	15	27	16	21	12	42	11.73
2024-25 (MHL)	42	10	14	24	20	21	17	68	6.70

Matveiko had only one game, but he scored a goal in it.

Luke Misa – LW/C, Penn State University Nittany Lions, NCAA​

19; Calgary’s fifth round pick (150th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 170 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 13th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	16	2	1	3	2	3	2	33	5.12
2024-25 (OHL)	67	34	51	85	58	63	43	211	33.60

Penn State was off this week.

Etienne Morin – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL/Rapid City Rush, ECHL​

20; Calgary’s second round pick (48th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft; 6’0″, 180 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 10th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
AHL season to date	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0.00
ECHL season to date	5	1	1	2	1	1	1	12	9.18
2024-25 (QMJHL)	62	14	44	58	29	40	24	222	21.79

Morin was sent down to the ECHL to get some games in. He played three games and registered his first ECHL goal (and a multi-point game, too).

Mace’o Phillips – D, Green Bay Gamblers, USHL​

18; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’6″, 228 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	17	1	3	4	2	3	2	39	5.54
2024-25 (USHL)	25	2	1	3	3	3	3	31	2.76

Phillips had no points this week.

Jeremie Poirier – D, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

23; Calgary’s third round pick (72nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 196 pounds; shoots left

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	17	1	3	4	2	3	1	27	9.38
2024-25 (AHL)	71	5	37	42	23	26	15	132	23.57

Poirier didn’t play this week for the Wranglers.

Cullen Potter – C, Arizona State University Sun Devils, NCAA​

18; Calgary’s first round pick (32nd overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 172 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 5th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	16	5	9	14	12	4	3	52	31.50
2024-25 (NCAA)	35	13	9	22	16	17	13	118	22.63

Potter had two goals and two assists over two weekend games. He was named the NCHC’s Forward of the Week.

Cole Reschny – C, University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, NCAA​

18; Calgary’s first round pick (18th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 5’11”, 183 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 2nd-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	14	2	13	15	12	8	7	29	38.57
2024-25 (WHL)	62	26	66	92	70	48	46	213	36.75

Reschny had four assists over two weekend games.

Theo Stockselius – C, Djurgårdens IF, U20 Nationell/SHL​

18; Calgary’s second round pick (54th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’2″, 181 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 12th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
U20 season to date	7	1	8	9	6	7	5	23	21.09
SHL season to date	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
2024-25 (J20)	40	22	29	51	38	35	29	93	20.91

Stockselius remains out after suffering a cut from a skate in October.

William Strömgren – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

22; Calgary’s second round pick (45th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 175 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 16th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	19	2	13	15	9	9	5	20	31.46
2024-25 (AHL)	70	14	35	49	35	26	20	107	27.90

Stromgren was back in the lineup after missing time due to injury. He picked up an assist and added another one due to a prior week stat correction.

Aydar Suniev – LW, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

20; Calgary’s third round pick (80th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’2″, 198 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 9th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	21	4	1	5	5	1	1	23	9.49
2024-25 (NCAA)	35	20	18	38	31	21	17	119	34.99

Suniev was back in the lineup after missing time due to illness, but didn’t pick up any points.

Ethan Wyttenbach – RW, Quinnipiac University Bobcats, NCAA​

18; Calgary’s fifth round pick (144th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 5’10”, 180 pounds; shoots right; FN’s 20th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	G	A	P	P1	5v5 P	5v5 P1	SH	NHLe
Season to date	16	8	14	22	19	11	10	32	31.57
2024-25 (USHL)	44	24	27	51	42	38	30	127	26.61

Wyttenbach had two assists in one game this week. He was named the ECAC’s Rookie of the Week, too, and is currently one of the top college players in the United States… as a true freshman.

Owen Say – G, Calgary Wranglers, AHL​

24; free agent signing; 6’2″, 185 pounds

GP	TOI	SV%
Season to date	10	513	.896
2024-25 (NCAA)	27	1531	.920

Say picked up a win in relief after Ivan Prosvetov was injured, then stood on his head in a shootout loss the following evening.

Arsenii Sergeev – G, Rapid City Rush, ECHL​

21; Calgary’s seventh round pick (205th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 192 pounds

GP	TOI	SV%
Season to date	9	534	.915
2024-25 (NCAA)	33	1982	.919

Sergeev allowed two goals in a loss and also allowed two goals in a win. He’s going to be leaned on a bit with Connor Murphy up with the Wranglers.

Yegor Yegorov – G, MHK Spartak-MAX, MHL​

20; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 183 pounds

GP	TOI	SV%
Season to date	14	841	.925
2024-25 (MHL)	20	1032	.904

Yegorov started once this week but lost, as his team didn’t give him much run support.

Kirill Zarubin – G, AKM Tula, MHL​

20; Calgary’s third round pick (84th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 178 pounds; FN’s 18th-ranked prospect 2025

GP	TOI	SV%
Season to date	20	1168	.932
2024-25 (MHL)	21	1157	.935

Zarubin started once and won this week. (Look at that save percentage!)

This article is presented by Bon Ton Meat Market​

A Tradition of quality products and personalized service for 104 years.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-wranglers-are-nearly-done-their-mammoth-road-trip

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames out-score the Wild in return home

Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

After a five game road trip, which ended with a thud in Nashville, the Calgary Flames returned home to face the streaking Minnesota Wild, who entered town riding a 12 game point streak. Well, the Flames got good goaltending when they needed it and got some nice offensive performances from several key players.

The Flames handed the Wild their first regulation loss since early November, by way of a 4-1 score.

The rundown​

The Flames weren’t all that good in the first period. It didn’t help that they kept taking penalties – four high-sticking minors! – and were on the kill for just under half of the period. Dustin Wolf had to be sharp… and was.

First period shots were 11-6 Wild. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 8-4 Wild and high-danger scoring chances were 3-2 Wild.

The Flames were all over the Wild in the second period and were rewarded a few minutes in. Rasmus Andersson pinched from the point, skating around the Wild net, coming out the other side and throwing the puck on net. Jonas Gustavsson couldn’t corral the loose rebound and Jonathan Huberdeau back-handed the loose puck into the net to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Jonathan Huberdeau scores his first goal in 14 games!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/LYzCwb3Vmt

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 5, 2025

The Wild didn’t register a shot on net until nearly 14 minutes into the second period. But they were busy after that point, eventually tying the game.

John Beecher lost a skate blade blocking a point shot from Zach Bogosian, which gave the Wild extra room to operate. After a few passes, a Bogosian shot careened off Yakov Trenin and Adam Klapka (and maybe Jake Bean) and into the Flames net to tie the game at 1-1.

Minnesota ties the game.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/yi0bdFlaXy

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 5, 2025

Second period shots were 15-7 Flames. 5v5 scoring chances were 16-11 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 7-6 Flames.

The Flames retook the lead in the third period.

Morgan Frost gained the offensive zone and floated a pass across to a streaking Matt Coronato, who received the puck and fired a wrister past Gustavsson to give the Flames a 2-1 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Matt Coronato scores a beauty to put the Flames up by one!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/n2ugxzEaeD

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 5, 2025

A little later, the Flames got some insurance. Connor Zary received a pass from Blake Coleman, then deked out Gustavsson and tucked it into the Minnesota net to go up 3-1.

FLAMES GOAL

The Flames score back to back beauties! This time it's Connor Zary!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/fOsNsDbjCI

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 5, 2025

The Wild pulled Gustavsson for the extra attacker. But it was to no avail, and Andersson added a long empty-netter to give the Flames a 4-1 win.

Third period shots were 9-9.

Why the Flames won​

The Flames were held in this game by their goaltender in the first period. But give them credit: they were the better team in the final two periods and did a lot to out-hustle and out-work the Wild. And some of their skill players made skill plays at key times, which was enough to give them two points.

Red Warrior​

If Dustin Wolf is replaced by a lesser goalie in the first period, this is a much different game. He was the difference for the home side, easily.

Honourable mentions to Rasmus Andersson and Matt Coronato, who each had multi-point outings.

Turning point​

The game was up for grabs in the early part of the third period. Coronato and Zary made a pair of good offensive plays to grab hold of this contest.

This and that​

The Flames wore their black alternate (“Blasty”) jerseys for the first time this season. They’re slated to don their black threads six times in 2025-26.

Jonathan Huberdeau’s second period goal was his first since Nov. 2.

After Burner​

Join Dean “Boomer” Molberg and Cami Kepke right after the game for After Burner!

Up next​

The Flames (10-15-4) are back in action on Saturday evening, in the early Hockey Night in Canada slot, when they host the Utah Mammoth.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-flames-out-score-the-wild-in-return-home

 

[Calgary Flames]

Beyond the Boxscore: Flames cool off the Minnesota Wild with 4-1 victory

The Minnesota Wild and their hot streak went cold as the Calgary Flames impressed on the way to a 4-1 victory.

CF% – 58.69%|| SCF% – 56.8%|| HDCF% – 50.23%|| xGF% – 54.22%

It’s a Team Game – Calgary got nothing but better as the game went on. I felt the first period was largely owned by the Wild. Hey, six minutes on the power play should do that for any team. Dustin Wolf had to be sharp early, something he struggled with in his last outing. The thing is, he was also sharp late. Without Wolf I genuinely do not know where this game goes. The Flames continue to be able to play any team competitively and showcase that when the goaltending on the other side isn’t at its best they can capitalize a fair amount. Huberdeau breaking his slump, Coronato with another, and Zary with a zinger is something we hope to see more often. If that were a regular occurrence they wouldn’t be where they are currently at in the standings, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Corsi King – Matt Coronato (78.74 per cent) led the way for the team. That line with him, Frost (74.36 per cent), and Huberdeau (63.73 per cent) played a really solid game. Frost has started to really come into his own, if the wingers can find a way to expand on that – or he could figure that out – Frost could find himself with a career year. Keeping his current two linemates as they are would even amplify his total production – thankfully for him the Flames do not have any centres coming for his job, or anybody’s, this year.

Under Pressure –

Taken By Chance – Rasmus Andersson (48.72 SCF% // 56.38 HDCF%) was flying out there. His play around the back of the net prior to Huberdeau’s (59.73 per cent // 77.83 per cent) first goal was awesome. He is still high on everyone’s trade bait lists, but that doesn’t change the fact he’s been crucial for them and their successes this year. He should be getting a haul of assets for how he’s played. Worth noting that despite their being lots of chances for the Flames, the fourth line did fail to generate any high danger chances.

xG Breakdown –

xGF% – Connor Zary (43.59 per cent) is tasked with some heavy shutdown minutes playing next to the captain. Being able to generate the chances he earned – against that level of competition – is no small feat. Zary continues to use that slump busting goal to drive himself forward and stay relevant as a consistent producer. Joel Hanley (83.25 per cent) led the way for the defence group. He played a nice simple game and didn’t try and stretch himself too thin.

Game Flow –

Game Score –

Shot Heatmap –

In The Crease – Ladies and gentleman the Calgary Flames starting goaltender with a scorpion-like save tonight. It certainly wasn’t too similar to the one the iconic Miikka Kiprusoff made, but it was still nice to look at. Wolf was on his toes early and then locked in like we all know he’s capable of. He shut the door no a talented Wild squad more than he maybe should have.

Dustin Wolf makes an incredible save! He has been amazing tonight!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/e69YLjAS9X

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 5, 2025

The Goals –

FLAMES GOAL

Jonathan Huberdeau scores his first goal in 14 games!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/LYzCwb3Vmt

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 5, 2025

FLAMES GOAL

Matt Coronato scores a beauty to put the Flames up by one!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/n2ugxzEaeD

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 5, 2025

FLAMES GOAL

The Flames score back to back beauties! This time it's Connor Zary!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/fOsNsDbjCI

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 5, 2025

FLAMES GOAL

Rasmus Andersson puts this one away with an empty netter!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/XuvByL0LAD

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 5, 2025

Flash’s 3 Stars –

1) Matt Coronato

2) Dustin Wolf

3) Rasmus Andersso

(Stats compiled from Naturalstattrick.com // Game Score from Hockeystatcards.com // xG and Under Pressure charts from HockeyViz.com // Game Flow and Shot Heatmap from NaturalStatTrick.com)

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[Calgary Flames]

Injured Flames defender Zayne Parekh joined Friday’s practice in non-contact jersey

Calgary Flames fans hoping to see the organization’s top prospect in action at the upcoming 2026 World Junior Championship tournament got some good news on Friday morning. Flames blueliner Zayne Parekh, currently on the injury reserve list, participated in Friday’s optional practice – albeit wearing a yellow non-contact jersey.

Wearing a yellow no-contact jersey, #Flames top prospect Zayne Parekh is skating with the team for the first time since suffering an upper body injury on November 7. pic.twitter.com/d3ievLLsjD

— Derek Wills (@Fan960Wills) December 5, 2025

Parekh was injured on a collision with Chicago Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno way back on Nov. 7, and has since been on the IR and dubbed “week to week” by the hockey club. He’s been skating on his own since around Nov. 22 as he works his way back from an upper body injury. He’s been on the IR long enough that he’s eligible to return whenever he’s cleared by the Flames medical staff.

As originally reported by Sportsnet’s Eric Francis and subsequently confirmed by Flames general manager Craig Conroy, the Flames plan on loaning Parekh to the Canadian national junior team for this year’s World Juniors. Canada’s training camp begins Dec. 15 in Niagara Falls, with the final roster announcement slated for Dec. 20 and the tournament running Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The 19-year-old Parekh was a first-round pick by the Flames, ninth overall, in the 2024 NHL Draft. He entered this season with a ton of momentum, becoming the first Ontario Hockey League defender to post 100 points (or more) since Ryan Ellis in 2010-11 and becoming the first Ontario junior defender to post consecutive 30-goal seasons since Bobby Orr did so back when the OHL was called the Ontario Hockey Association. He was a late add to Canada’s World Junior camp in 2024 as an injury replacement, but was not named to the 2025 national junior roster.

Parekh’s a superb offensive hockey player who has nothing left to accomplish at the OHL level. But due to his age, and the CHL-NHL Transfer Agreement, he’s only eligible to play in the NHL or OHL this season, and so the Flames have been giving him every chance to learn the pro game in the NHL – a very difficult place to learn it. The results have been mixed, with Parekh showing flashes of brilliance, but also moments of frustration.

The hope is that he can have a successful World Juniors experience and rejoin the Flames for the stretch drive with some swagger to his game.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/injure...joined-fridays-practice-in-non-contact-jersey

 

[Calgary Flames]

Series preview: Wranglers wrap up road trip against the Ontario Reign

The Calgary Wranglers are in the final stretch of their 10 game road trip with their last two games in Ontario, CA this weekend against the Reign. The Wranglers picked up three of a possible four points earlier this week against the Abbotsford Canucks with a comeback win on Tuesday and a shootout loss on Wednesday. There are four more points on the table this weekend as they look to build off some of the successes they had earlier this week.

Last game’s lines​

Calgary

Parker Bell – Rory Kerins – Matvei Gridin

William Stromgren – Justin Kirkland – Martin Frk

Aydar Suniev – Clark Bishop – Andrew Basha

Alex Gallant – David Silye – Lucas Ciona

Nick Cicek – Hunter Brzustewicz

Turner Ottenbreit – Daniil Miromanov

Simon Mack – Artem Grushnikov

Owen Say

Connor Murphy

Ontario

Taylor Ward – Akil Thomas (inactive) – Martin Chromiak

Aatu Jamsen – Glenn Gawdin – Cole Guttman

Andre Lee – Kenny Connors – Jared Wright

Jack Hughes – Francesco Pinelli – Logan Brown

Joe Hicketts – Jakub Dvorak

Angus Booth – Kyle Burroughs

Kirill Kirsanov – Samuel Bolduc

Phoenix Copley

Isaiah Saville

Leaders​

Calgary

Martin Frk – 22GP, 10G, 12A

Matvei Gridin – 20GP, 8G, 13A

Rory Kerins – 19GP, 7G, 12A

Ontario

Martin Chromiak – 19GP, 6G, 8A

Andre Lee – 19GP, 6G, 8A

Nikita Alexandria – 18GP, 3G, 11A

Notes and expectations​

Based off the events of earlier this week, Ivan Prosvetov will likely miss this series as he deals with a lower body injury. Owen Say had a good game in Abbotsford on Wednesday and will likely start the front half of this back to back. Depending on how game one goes, it’ll probably be Connor Murphy making his Wranglers season debut on Sunday.

Someone to keep an eye out for this weekend is Sam Morton. He missed Wednesday’s game for unknown reasons and with Calgary playing on Thursday and no transaction announcements, it doesn’t appear to be call up related. His play wouldn’t justify a healthy scratch so hopefully, we see him return soon. Carter King was also a late lineup change last game as he was written in on the top line after scoring the game winner on Tuesday. Then, by the time puck drop came, Alex Gallant was in the game and Parker Bell was up on the top line with no sign of Carter King on the ice or bench. Hopefully, these misses were a minor reason, such as a flu going around the team.

Someone who has been coming into his own is Justin Kirkland. Kirkland has six points in eight games with the Wranglers and has been a steady source of production and energy centring the second line. He scored in both games earlier this week and scored the only Wranglers shootout goal on Wednesday. He’s found some great chemistry with William Stromgren and Martin Frk and their combined production is showing its dividends.

This series gets going on Saturday with a start time of 7:00 p.m. MT and continues into Sunday for a 4:00 p.m. MT start. Streaming options are available for a fee on Flo Hockey and FlamesNation contributors Ryan Pike and I will have updates on X (formerly Twitter).

This article is brought to you by Crystal Waters​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/series-preview-wranglers-wrap-up-road-trip-against-the-ontario-reign

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames grind out a win over Mammoth

Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

The Calgary Flames hosted the Utah Mammoth on Saturday night in the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Mammoth were playing their second game in as many nights, but arguably were the more energetic outfit in this outing. The Flames managed to score early and then turn the game into a bit of a slog, grinding out a 2-0 home ice victory over Utah.

The rundown​

The Flames hit paydirt early. Like, on their first shift. The Flames rushed into the offensive zone. Nazem Kadri went for a wrap-around and Yegor Sharangovich jammed in the rebound to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Yegor Sharangovich opens the scoring 16 seconds into the game!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/lJVJ9SFKOr

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 7, 2025

After that, well, it was a pretty dull opening frame. The Flames were pretty solid with their pace and possession in the first 5-7 minutes of the period, but then Utah found their rhythm and started to take things over.

Dustin Wolf had to make a lot of good saves on Utah chances, several of which came off of odd turnovers by the Flames.

Dustin Wolf makes a couple incredible saves!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/ZB1JbYlMtz

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 7, 2025

First period shots were 10-8 Mammoth. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 11-7 Mammoth and high-danger scoring chances were 8-3 Mammoth.

Utah carried the pace of play for much of the second period.

However, the Flames may’ve gotten the best chance of the period when Rasmus Andersson made a nice deflection in the slot off a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau. It hit the crossbar and stayed out.

The Flames come close to going up by two but the puck hits the cross bar.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/3rFHI7VLsj

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 7, 2025

Late in the period, Wolf made a superb stop on Liam O’Brien.

Dustin Wolf shows off his athleticism on this save. This guy is unreal.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/f9x0OHHvRI

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 7, 2025

Second period shots were 9-6 Mammoth. 5v5 scoring chances were 10-7 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 5-3 Flames.

The Mammoth pushed for an equalizer throughout the period, but the Flames defended pretty well and Wolf remained sharp.

With Utah’s netminder on the bench for an extra attacker, Connor Zary added an empty-netter (after a big shot block by Rasmus Andersson) to give the Flames a 2-0 lead. They held on for the victory.

Third period shots were 9-8 Flames.

Why the Flames won​

The Flames weren’t all that good in this game. They weren’t all that bad either. They were fine, but that’s a step back from how strong they looked in all three zones against Minnesota. They were playing their system perfectly well, but they seemed to struggle with the pace of Utah’s forecheck and their puck management – especially in their own zone – was a bit shaky at times considering the standard they’ve set for it.

Their goaltender covered up a lot of flaws in their game.

Red Warrior​

Dustin Wolf. He was superb in all three periods and was a consistent difference-maker when his club needed one.

Turning point​

The Flames scored early, so we guess technically the game was decided 16 seconds in. But we could point to any number of Dustin Wolf saves after they got that first goal.

We’ll also point to a third period where the Flames did a very nice job bottling things up and making Utah work for any territory they gained.

This and that​

Ryan Lomberg fought Liam O’Brien in the second period.

Ryan Lomberg and Liam O'Brien drop the gloves

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/DZkzyruTI0

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 7, 2025

This was the first-ever win for the Flames over the Utah Mammoth franchise, dating back to last season when they were the Utah Hockey Club.

After Burner​

Join Mike Gould and Kent Wilson right after the game for After Burner!

Up next​

The Flames (11-15-4) are back in action on Monday night when they host the Buffalo Sabres.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

This article is a Presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-flames-grind-out-a-win-over-mammoth

 

[Calgary Flames]

Yan Kuznetsov has given the Flames blueline a clearly-defined top four

When the Calgary Flames began their 2025-26 season, their defensive group was a work in progress.

The Flames had a well-defined shutdown pair, with Kevin Bahl paired with Rasmus Andersson in a continuation of their existing unit from 2024-25. And beyond that duo, they had a pretty steady churn over the first 14 games of the season.

In particular, MacKenzie Weegar, arguably the Flames’ top blueliner in 2024-25, bounced from pairing to pairing, spending games with Joel Hanley, Daniil Miromanov and Jake Bean over the first 14 games. The constant mixing and matching of Weegar with other defenders meant that the third pairing had similar churn. (And we don’t need to get into what that churn may have meant when it came to giving Zayne Parekh a consistent role as he moved into the NHL from junior hockey.)

On Nov. 4, the Flames brought up Yan Kuznetsov from the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers. After spending his first three games with Brayden Pachal and Andersson, he was paired with Weegar on Nov. 11. Since then, the Flames have had their first two defensive pairings basically set in stone, with Hanley, Bean and Pachal rotating on the third pairing.

Since Kuznetsov joined Weegar, the Flames are 7-4-2.

Kuznetsov’s steady play has had two big impacts on the Flames.

One is pretty simple: the penalty kill has been a lot more effective with him as part of that rotation. During his tenure with the Wranglers, Kuznetsov was leaned on heavily in defensive situations and on the penalty kill. Prior to his promotion to the NHL, the Flames killed off 77.4% of opposition power plays. Since then, they’re operating at 91.1%. Moreover, every major defensive metric on the penalty kill – expected goals against, scoring chances against and high-danger chances against – has improved.

Now, it’s not just Kuznetsov’s presence on the PK that has turned it around. He was joining a group that had 14 games to wrap their heads around Trent Cull’s systems tweaks. Similarly, Cull had spent ample time with Kuznetsov with the Wranglers, so he knew a lot about his tendencies and habits. All of those factors have likely contributed to the Flames being a very stingy bunch on the PK with Kuznetsov on special teams.

The other one comes from how Kuznetsov has been used impacts everyone else’s ice time. Simply put: the Flames have a top four now. It’s well-defined, with all four defenders having clear roles and averaging north of 20 minutes per night:

• Andersson and Weegar anchor the two power play units.
• Bahl, Kuznetsov, Andersson and Weegar all work the penalty kill.

This leaves the third pairing as the “bump-up” pairing after special teams shifts, which allows the Flames to transition back to rotating their regular even strength units when special teams time is over and maintaining their in-game rhythm.

(Since Kuznetsov’s arrival, Weegar is playing about 1:30 less per game and Andersson is playing 0:33 more, with about 1:10 per game shifting from penalty kill work to even strength shifts for Andersson, with Andersson’s increase in ice time being entirely more power play time.)

Following the Flames’ 2-0 win over Utah on Saturday, Flames head coach Ryan Huska discussed Kuznetsov’s performance since joining the Flames from the AHL:

“He’s not trying to be something that he isn’t. That’s maybe the one thing that I would say about him. He understands his game and he understands what we need out of him. It’s not to be generating offence or up in the rush. He needs to be a guy that’s hard to play against on the defending side. And in doing that, he’s allowing MacKenzie to be freed up a little bit more. So I think he’s been one of the best stories for us over the last month and a bit. He’s been excellent and has been pretty consistent with it. So I go back to giving a lot of credit to the guys with the Wranglers over the last couple of years for making sure he was ready to play when the opportunity came for him.”

The Flames are back in action on Monday when they host the Buffalo Sabres.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

This article is a presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the industry-leading 10-year, 160,000-kilometre powertrain warranty. Check out their showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca.

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/yan-kuznetsov-has-given-the-flames-blueline-a-clearly-defined-top-four

 

[Calgary Flames]

Cole Reschny receives camp invite for 2026 World Juniors: report

The 2026 World Junior Championship is less than a month away.

On Sunday evening, Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis reported that Calgary Flames prospect Cole Reschny will attend Team Canada’s camp. He’ll be joined by fellow Flames prospect, Zayne Parekh.

Can add Cole Reschny to this. #WorldJuniors https://t.co/TwcKK5Dqob

— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) December 8, 2025

Reschny was drafted 18th overall by the Flames in the 2025 draft from the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals. His junior career came to an end after the 2024-25 season, as he joined Cade Littler at the University of North Dakota, scoring two goals and 18 points in 16 games this season.

There are just 14 forward spots available, and you can bet there’s going to be stiff competition. Other notable names attending the World Junior camp are Gavin McKenna, Porter Martone, Michael Hage, Caleb Desnoyers, and Jett Luchanko. Parekh is expected to be loaned to Team Canada when he returns from his injury, but other players who could be loaned to Team Canada are Michael Misa and Harrison Brunicke.

It appears like Reschny and Parkeh could be the only two Flames’ prospects with the possibility to attend to 2026 World Juniors. Earlier this month, Team USA released their preliminary roster, omitting Flames’ fifth-rounder Ethan Wyttenbach and first-rounder Cullen Potter. The Flames’ second-rounder, Theo Stöckselius, has been out with an injury and won’t play for Team Sweden.

Team Canada had a disappointing tournament in Ottawa last year, finishing third in the group behind Team USA and Team Finland, and getting knocked out in the quarterfinals at the hands of Czechia. The 2026 World Juniors will be held in Minneapolis and St. Paul and run from Dec. 26 until Jan.5.

This year, Team Canada is in a group with Team Finland, Team Czechia, Team Denmark, and Team Latvia; the latter beat them last year in a shootout. The other group consists of Team USA, Team Sweden, Team Slovakia, Team Switzerland, and Team Germany.

---

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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[Calgary Flames]

Flames Game Day 31: A rumble with Buffalo (7pm MT, SNW)

Winners of back-to-back home games, the Calgary Flames (11-15-4, 26 points) look to continue a run of pretty effective play when they continue their homestand against the Buffalo Sabres (11-13-4, 26 points). The Flames have started to climb out of the NHL’s basement lately, while the Sabres have been running in place. Can the Flames keep their winning ways going?

Today’s broadcast begins at 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

The Flames​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Yegor Sharangovich – Nazem Kadri – Joel Farabee
Jonathan Huberdeau – Morgan Frost – Matt Coronato
Connor Zary – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman
Ryan Lomberg – John Beecher – Adam Klapka

Yan Kuznetsov – MacKenzie Weegar
Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – Brayden Pachal

We’re projecting Dustin Wolf to start in net, backed up by Devin Cooley. Hunter Brzustewicz was called up this morning but isn’t expected to play, with Dryden Hunt being the other extra. Jake Bean is expected to miss this game with an injury that’s being evaluated.

The Flames are 6-2-1 over their last nine games. Their two losses were clunkers against Tampa Bay and Nashville. But otherwise they’ve been quite good, and they’ve managed to find their rhythm, roll their lines and play a simple, structured, occasionally boring type of hockey. They’re not a run and gun team. They’re smart enough not to run and gun. But when they’re able to drag a team into the muck, they can be quite effective.

We’ll see if they can keep their momentum rolling against Buffalo.

The Sabres​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Jordan Greenway – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
Zach Benson – Josh Norris – Josh Doan
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Krebs – Tyson Kozak

Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin
Bowen Byram – Conor Timmins
Owen Power – Jacob Bryson

We’re projecting Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to start in net, backed up by Alex Lyon. (Lyon’s been backing up lately, with Colten Ellis and Luukkonen rotating starts.). The projected extras skaters are Joshua Dunne and Zach Metsa.

Since the last time the Flames met the Sabres, Buffalo has played eight games. They won twice, then lost twice, then won twice, then lost twice. This is sort of how their season has gone: alternating wins and losses. Their trip to Calgary is the third game in a six game road trip, and they’ve lost their first two games.

We’ll see if the Sabres can shake the rust off and play a better game than they did when they lost to the Flames last month.

Unavailable players​

The Flames are without Martin Pospisil, Zayne Parekh, Sam Honzek and Jake Bean.

The Sabres are without Justin Danforth, Jiri Kulich and Michael Kesselring.

The numbers​

Flames	Sabres
11	Wins	11
26 (.433)	Points (%)	26 (.464)
53.0% (8th)	xGF%	52.2% (10th)
13.7% (32nd)	PP%	18.1% (20th)
83.7% (6th)	PK%	87.2% (1st)

Head to head​

This game will conclude the two game season series between these clubs. The Flames beat Buffalo by a 6-2 score back in mid November.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

This article is a presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the industry-leading 10-year, 160,000-kilometre powertrain warranty. Check out their showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca.

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-game-day-31-a-rumble-with-buffalo-7pm-mt-snw

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames tame Sabres in goal-filled tilt

Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

When you see the Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres listed on the NHL schedule, you may not have expected an action-packed, goal-filled evening of hockey on a Monday night in December. Well, gang, whether you expected it or not, that’s what unfolded at the Saddledome.

The Flames out-scored the Sabres in a 7-4 win to run their streak to three consecutive victories on this homestand.

The rundown​

This game got off to a bit of a clunky start, with it being 5:06 before a single shot was registered by either club.

Eventually, though, the Flames opened the scoring on a bit of an ugly one. A MacKenzie Weegar point shot bonked off Yegor Sharangovich, jostling for position with Bowen Byram in front of the Sabres net, and trickled past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Good things happen when you go to the net! Yegor Sharangovich opens the scoring!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/SrxrrshyEv

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

A slew of penalties back and forth resulted in the Flames getting 32 seconds of a two-man advantage. They scored with a single second remaining on that five-on-three, with a Rasmus Andersson slapper almost-but-not-quite blocked by Conor Timmins, fluttering past Luukkonen to give the Flames a 2-0 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Rasmus Andersson's point shot some how finds it's way to the back of the net! That's his 7th goal of the season already.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/0Hu1IVDHd6

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

First period shots were 12-7 Flames. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 11-6 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 8-4 Flames.

The Sabres pulled within one early in the second period on a power play. With Morgan Frost in the box, Jason Zucker found Tage Thompson alone near the slot. Thompson had time to get a good shot off, and man, he wired a shot past Dustin Wolf to cut the Flames’ advantage to 2-1.

Tage Thompson rips one past Dustin Wolf. My god what a shot.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/WVRYCWR9N0

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

But the Flames got another power play goal a little later, with Matt Coronato finding Jonathan Huberdeau at the far post with a great pass that Huberdeau got just enough of with his stick to wobble into the net to give the Flames a 3-1 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Jonathan huberdeau finishes off a nice passing play by the Flames! It's 3-1 Calgary

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/ehUAwAivJG

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

The Sabres briefly made it a 3-2 hockey game off the rush, with Thompson firing a heck of a shot from a sharp angle that eluded Wolf. But the Flames challenged for an offside zone entry and the goal was waved off.

The Sabres score but the Flames challenged for an offside and won.

It's still 3-1 Calgary

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/s4jwyE9Y61

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

But the Sabres eventually made this a 3-2 game anyway. Matt Coronato broke his stick, resulting in the Flames getting hemmed into their zone for awhile and the Sabres doing a nice job cycling the puck. Eventually, Owen Power took advantage of oodles of traffic in front of Wolf and fired a puck through the crowd to cut the Flames’ lead to 3-2.

The Flames get stuck in their own end for a couple of minutes and it leads to a Buffalo goal.

3-2 Flames

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/CbYY4urH5h

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

But 21 seconds later, the Flames restored their two goal lead. This time, the Nazem Kadri line executed a fantastic passing sequence off the rush, ending with Joel Farabee throwing the puck to the net-front for a slick drive-by redirect by Kadri to give the Flames a 4-2 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Nazem Kadri finishes off a nice passing play and he gets their two goal lead back!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/1WwNGXQs8x

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

But the Sabres responded soon afterwards with a really nice redirect goal of their own. This time, Josh Doan made a really patient, precise pass to the far post for a pinching Rasmus Dahlin, who got a stick on it to launch it past Wolf to cut the Flames’ lead to 4-3.

Buffalo executes a nice passing play and gets within one.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/efM51LzYBB

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

But later still, the Flames restored their two goal lead… again! This time, we saw some four-on-four hockey after another slew of back-and-forth minors to both clubs. Blake Coleman attempted to drive the net, got his chance disrupted, then he chased down the puck behind the net and drove the net. Luukkonen made the initial stop, but a pinching Yan Kuznetsov jammed in the loose rebound to give the Flames a 5-3 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Yan Kuznetsov scores his 2nd goal of the season!
It's 5-3 Calgary!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/3uFLtrWqRI

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

Second period shots were 15-10 Sabres. 5v5 scoring chances were 11-4 Sabres and high-danger scoring chances were 6-3 Sabres.

Alex Lyon entered the game in relief of Luukkonen for the Sabres to begin the third period.

The Sabres pressed for much of the third period, looking to claw their way back into this one. But the Flames did a pretty admirable job letting the Sabres run around on the outside of the offensive zone.

The Sabres pulled Lyon for the extra attacker with 3:48 remaining in regulation. During a goal-mouth scrum following a scramble over a loose puck, Wolf was given the extra minor going after Peyton Krebs. On the resulting six-on-four advantage for the Sabres, Alex Tuch redirected a shot from Dahlin past Wolf to make it 5-4 Flames.

A double deflection beats Dustin Wolf. It's 5-4 Calgary

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/x7pcA4kVXu

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 9, 2025

The Sabres kept pressing and kept Lyon out for the extra attacker, but Mikael Backlund and Sharangovich each scored on the empty net to give the Flames a 7-4 victory.

Third period shots were 7-6 Sabres. 5v5 scoring chances were 7-6 Sabres and high-danger scoring chances were 3-1 Sabres.

Why the Flames won​

Were the Flames great in this game? Nope. They were a bit leaky defensively, especially in their own zone. The normally stingy club gave the Sabres a lot of wiggle room to manuever, and the Sabres made a lot of really nice plays. But give the Flames credit: whenever the Sabres seemed to start clawing back into this game, the Flames did what they could to shove them down again.

It wasn’t pretty and it probably isn’t something they can replicate too often, but it was enough to get them two points.

Red Warrior​

We’ll give it to Nazem Kadri. He had three points and his line was consistently a noticeable presence on the ice.

Turning point​

We’ll cheat and give you two. Twice in the second period, the Sabres pulled to within a goal of the Flames. Twice in the second period, the Flames scored shortly after the Sabres did to restore their multi-goal lead.

(It happened again in the third period.)

This and that​

Brayden Pachal returned to the lineup after a brief spell in the press box, replacing an injured Jake Bean. Hunter Brzustewicz, recalled on Monday morning, was a healthy scratch along with Dryden Hunt.

The Flames are now 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.

After Burner​

Join Mike Gould and Robert Munnich right after the game for After Burner!

Up next​

The Flames (12-15-4) finish off their homestand on Wednesday evening when they host the Detroit Red Wings. (Beware: it’s a 6:30 p.m. MT start time!)

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-flames-tame-sabres-in-goal-filled-tilt

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames prospect roundup: Cole Reschny and Cade Littler picked up plenty of points the last two weeks

Cole Reschny and Cade Littler have been hot for North Dakota in the past couple of weeks.

This is the Nov. 25 – Dec. 8 edition of the Flames prospect round-up, where we look at how Flames prospects have done every week. Specifically, we’ll look at players playing overseas, in junior hockey, or at the college level, as the American Hockey League prospects will have an article of their own in the Wranglers Recaps.

Let’s take a look at the last two weeks!

Cole Reschny and Cade Littler​

In the past two weeks, Cole Reschny and Cade Littler have played four games for the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, winning all four games to give them a five-game winning streak. On Nov. 28, they defeated Bemidji State 5-3, then 2-1 in overtime the following day. The following weekend, they defeated St. Cloud State 4-3, then 4-2.

Littler scored the game-winning goal in their 5-3 win, while Reschny picked up three primary assists. Zayne Parekh’s brother, Isa, also picked up an assist for Bemidji State. The second match-up against Bemidji State saw less scoring, but Reschny picked up another assist, while top 2026 draft prospect Keaton Verhoeff picked up two assists.

Both Reschny and Littler picked up an assist in the Fighting Hawks’ 4-3 win. In their 4-2 win, Littler scored twice, and Reschny picked up two assists. Reschny now has two goals and 18 points in 16 games, along with an invite to Team Canada’s World Junior camp. Littler has four goals and eight points in 14 games, just a point shy of matching his career-best in points.

Tic-tac-goal!#UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/0Nsj0FKyyi

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) December 7, 2025

Next up for North Dakota is an NCHC match-up against Omaha on both Friday and Saturday.

Cullen Potter​

Cullen Potter and the Arizona State Sun Devils played two games in the past two weeks, defeating Ohio State 3-2 in overtime and 4-3 in overtime, giving them a three-game winning streak.

It was a strong performance from the Calgary Flames’ 32nd overall pick in 2025, as he scored a goal and an assist in both games, giving him five goals and 14 points through 16 games this season. Unfortunately, Potter was not invited to Team USA’s preliminary roster camp for the World Juniors.

Average display of Potter magic pic.twitter.com/H7UI905WbX

— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) November 30, 2025

Next up for Potter and the Sun Devils is NCHC action against Minnesota Duluth, facing them on Friday and Saturday on the road.

Theo Stöckselius​

Unsurprisingly, Theo Stöckselius remains out of Djurgårdens IF U20’s lineup after being cut by a skate in October. He also didn’t make Team Sweden’s preliminary roster for the upcoming World Junior Championship.

Djurgårdens IF U20 played four games in the past two weeks, defeating Skellefteå AIK U20 4-1, falling 3-2 to Luleå HF U20, 3-0 to Mora IK U20, and 5-1 to Leksands IF U20. They don’t play again until the New Year, so they won’t be in next week’s article.

Mace’o Phillips​

Mace’o Phillips and the Green Bay Gamblers can’t stop winning. After the last edition of the prospect roundup, they were on a three-game winning streak, but it’s now at eight games. They defeated the Chicago Steel 2-1, the Sioux City Musketeers 5-0 and 5-2, the Dubuque Fighting Saints 2-1, and the Steel 6-5.

Phillips, the Flames’ third-round pick in 2025, only played in three of those games and was pointless in each of them. This season, he has a goal and four points, with 68 penalty minutes. He’s already matched a career-high in the points department, while surpassing his 67 penalty minutes last season.

The Gamblers look to keep rolling, as they play the Chicago Steel in a home-and-home on Wednesday and Friday, before taking on the Madison Capitols. Phillips won’t be with them, though, as he’s representing the United States at the Junior A World Challenge in Quebec.

Ethan Wyttenbach​

Ethan Wyttenbach, the Flames’ fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft, has quickly emerged as one of their top prospects. Yeah, I said it. Quinnipiac played four games since the last roundup article, defeating Holy Cross 7-6, Stonehill 3-2, RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) 5-1, but lost 4-0 to Union in their final game before Christmas break.

The Roslyn, New York, native was all over the scoresheet the past two weeks. In their 7-6 victory, Wyttenbach scored twice and picked up two assists. In their 3-2 victory, Wyttenbach picked up two assists, including the game-tying goal with just under three minutes remaining in the game. RPI didn’t stop Wyttenbach either, as he scored a goal and had two assists, but was held off the scoresheet in Quinnipiac’s 4-0 defeat.

28 + 19 #BobcatNation x #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/j3qbllGEEb

— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) December 6, 2025

This season, the winger has nine goals and 25 points in 18 games. Wyttenbach sits fifth in points, and no other freshman is particularly close. Flyers prospect Porter Martone has the next-most points for freshmen with 20.

Unfortunately, Wyttenbach won’t appear in next week’s article, as he wasn’t named to Team USA’s preliminary roster for the upcoming WJC, and Quinnipiac doesn’t play until the new year. When they return on Jan. 2, they’ll face Aidan Lane and Harvard University.

Aidan Lane​

Speaking of Lane, Harvard University has played four games since the latest prospect roundup. They fell 5-1 to Michigan, then lost 4-3 in overtime. However, they bounced back with a 3-2 victory over Yale last Friday and a 7-3 victory over Brown on Saturday. Both wins came during in-conference play.

Lane was held off the scoresheet (penalties aside) in Harvard’s two losses, but picked up an assist against Yale and scored twice against Brown. So far this season, the 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ontario, has five goals and six points in 11 games.

Lane makes it 6-3!

https://t.co/SIX7cMel9L
https://t.co/4jfSLADITH
https://t.co/ofW4mMrbhA#GoCrimson | #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/23N5YQnk7x

— Harvard Men's Hockey (@HarvardMHockey) December 7, 2025

Harvard’s next match-up is that game against Quinnipiac on Jan. 2, so Lane won’t appear in these next few articles.

Jakob Leander​

Flames’ seventh-rounder Jakob Leander played two games in the last two weeks with HV71 U20. They defeated Linköping HC U20 by a score of 8-3, with Leander picking up an assist. They then fell 6-1 to Frölunda HC U20.

The good news is that the right-shot defenceman has already matched a career-high in both goals and points. Last season, he had a goal and six points in 39 games, and has the same total in 21 games, with six fewer penalty minutes and a much better plus/minus.

HV71 U20’s lone game this week is against Växjö Lakers HC U20, and then they’re off for an entire month.

Yan Matveiko​

The collegiate season may be winding down for Christmas, but the MHL is chugging along. In the past two weeks, Krasnaya Armiya (Red Army) played four games, defeating SKA Academy 6-3, then beating Tolpar 2-1 in a shootout. Unfortunately, they lost their two most recent games, a 3-1 loss to Stalnye Lisy and another 3-1 loss to Avto.

Flames prospect Yan Matveiko played in all four games and scored a goal in three of them. In their 6-3 victory, he scored a goal and picked up an assist. Red Army’s lone goal in their 2-1 shootout win came courtesy of Matveiko, followed by another goal in their first 3-1 defeat.

This season, the Flames’ seventh-rounder in the 2025 draft has 13 goals and 28 points in 29 games, already surpassing his career-highs in both categories. Red Army will face JHC Dynamo Moskva on Wednesday, Red Machine-Yunior on Thursday, and Mikhailov Academy on Sunday; more on them in a bit.

Jacob Battaglia​

Quite a few 2025 draftees are on rather sizable win streaks; the same cannot be said for Jacob Battaglia and the Kingston Frontenacs. After a 4-1 loss to the North Bay Battalion, a 2-1 loss to the Barrie Colts, a 7-3 loss to the Owen Sound Attack, a 4-2 loss to the Brantford Bulldogs, a 4-2 loss to the Flint Firebirds, and another 2-1 loss to the Colts, the Frontenacs’ losing streak has now hit nine games.

What’s more is that Battaglia has just two points in the last two weeks, an assist in their loss to the Bulldogs and another one in their loss to the Firebirds. Through 28 games this season, the Flames’ second-rounder in 2024 has just 11 goals and 19 points, well off the pace of his 40 goals and 90 points last season.

The Frontenacs will have a chance to snap that losing streak before it hits double digits, as they host the Oshawa Generals on Wednesday. On Friday, they host the Windsor Spitfires, followed by a road game against the Generals on Sunday.

Kirill Zarubin​

Mikhailov Academy played in four games in the past two weeks, with Flames’ third-round pick in 2024 playing in three of them. They fell 2-1 in overtime to JHC Dynamo, but got their revenge with a 2-1 win of their own. In the lone game Zarubin didn’t play, Mikhailov Academy fell 3-2 to Belye Medvedi, but rebounded with a 2-1 win over Yegor Yegorov’s old team, Krylya Sovetov.

It was a strong two weeks for Zarubin, to say the least. In their 2-1 overtime loss, he stopped 26 of 28 shots for a .929 save percentage. He then stopped 36 of 37 shots (.973 save percentage) in their 2-1 win, and then 25 of 26 shots (.962 save percentage) in their other 2-1 victory. This season, Zarubin has a .934 save percentage and 1.86 goals against average in 21 games played.

Their lone game this week is against Yan Matveiko and Red Army on Sunday. If you find yourself up at 3 AM, you can watch that game on YouTube.

Trevor Hoskin​

It’s been tough sledding for Trevor Hoskin and Merrimack College. They’ve lost their last four games, a 5-4 defeat to Notre Dame, a 1-0 loss to Dartmouth, and a pair of losses to Connecticut, one by a score of 3-0 and the other a 5-2 loss.

Hoskin picked up two assists in their 5-4 loss, giving the Flames’ fourth-round pick in 2024 a total of four goals and 14 points in 14 games this season. This season, Hoskin’s 14 points lead the team while ranking fourth in goals.

Unlike a few other schools, Merrimack doesn’t have Christmas break just yet, as they’ll face Yale on Friday and Long Island University on Saturday, both games are at home.

Hunter Laing​

Another Flames’ prospect in the Canadian Hockey League on a losing streak is Hunter Laing and his Saskatoon Blades. They fell 9-3 to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Nov. 28, then 6-5 to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Nov. 30. When the calendar turned to December, they fell 4-1 to the Brandon Wheat Kings, then 4-0 to the Regina Pats.

Laing’s two points from the past two weeks came in that wild 6-5 game, picking up two assists. Through 26 games this season, the right-shot centre has 13 goals and 26 points.

It’s a busy week for the Blades, as they face the Moose Jaw Warriors on Tuesday, head home to host the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday, return to Moose Jaw to face the Warriors on Saturday, and then return home again to host the Prince Albert Raiders.

Eric Jamieson​

Eric Jamieson is quickly rising in my prospect rankings. Denver played three games the past two weeks, losing 6-5 in overtime to Minnesota, with the left-shot defenceman picking up an assist. Jamieson also had an assist in their 4-0 win over Miami (OH) last Friday, then scored in their 5-2 win over Miami (OH).

The Flames’ sixth-round pick in 2024 had a solid final season in the Western Hockey League, scoring 14 goals and 36 points in 66 games. He’s hit a whole different level in his freshman season with Denver, scoring six goals and 12 points in 17 games.

Eric Jamieson’s (DEN) first 17 NCAA games:

— 6 Goals
— 6 assists
— 34 shots
— 16 shot blocks
— 2 multi-point games

The 6th round defender out of the WHL is a bit of a sniper

Here’s his goal from Saturday’s matchup against Miami (OH).
#Flames pic.twitter.com/q2HDaOcxSD

— Flames Prospects (@BlastyProspects) December 8, 2025

Denver has two more games before the holidays, heading to Minnesota to play St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday. They won’t play again until the New Year, when they host the University of Maine.

Jaden Lipinski​

Speaking of the University of Maine, they played just two games the past two weeks, a pair of games against New Hampshire. They lost both, the first by a score of 1-0, then a 3-2 loss on Saturday.

Flames’ prospect Jaden Lipinski was held pointless in both games, giving him two goals and seven points in 15 games this season. The Flames’ fourth-round pick in 2023 isn’t having a bad season by any means.

Maine will play three more games before their holiday break, hosting UMass Lowell on Wednesday, as well as a pair of games against Lindenwood on the weekend.

Yegor Yegorov​

Yegor Yegorov’s JHC Spartak-MAX played four games in the past two weeks, with the Flames’ prospect playing in three of their games. They fell 5-3 to Loko on Nov. 24, then 2-0 to Krylya Sovetov on Dec. 1. Yegorov’s most recent game saw JHC Spartak-MAX defeat Red Machine-Yunior 6-2, and in the game Yegorov didn’t play in, they fell 8-3.

It wasn’t a bad week for the Flames’ sixth-round pick in 2023. In their 5-3 loss, he stopped 39 of 43 shots for a .907 save percentage. He followed that up by stopping 34 of 36 shots for a .944 save percentage in their 2-0 loss, then stopped 32 of 34 shots in their 6-2 win. For the season, Yegorov has a .926 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average.

Axel Hurtig​

Lastly, Axel Hurtig and the Calgary Hitmen had a rough two weeks, and they’ve lost eight of their last 10 games. On Nov. 27, the Hitmen fell 5-2 to the Moose Jaw Warriors, which was followed by a 4-3 loss to the Red Deer Rebels on Nov. 30. Their two wins in the last month came on Friday and Saturday, a 3-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday and 4-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday. That momentum fell apart on Dec. 7, as they fell 3-2 to the Wenatchee Wild in the Teddy Bear Toss game.

Hurtig’s lone point over the past two weeks came in their 3-2 victory over the Raiders, as he picked up a primary assist. The Flames’ seventh-rounder in 2023 has two goals and four points in 24 games this season.

This coming week, the Hitmen play a home-and-home against the Rebels, hosting them on Friday and then heading north on Saturday.

---

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...picked-up-plenty-of-points-the-last-two-weeks

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames lineup news: ‘Pretty good chance’ Hunter Brzustewicz plays on Wednesday against Detroit

One of the Calgary Flames’ most promising young prospects could be making his 2025-26 season debut in the final game of their homestand.

On Monday, the Flames summoned blueliner Hunter Brzustewicz from the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers, at least in part due to an injury suffered by blueliner Jake Bean. Adding Brzustewicz gave the Flames seven healthy defenders in case someone caught the flu or were hurt in warm-up. But you don’t bring up the organization’s top AHL blueliner without at least some temptation to use him in games to see how he could fare at the NHL level.

After Tuesday’s optional practice at the Saddledome, head coach Ryan Huska was asked by Sportsnet’s Eric Francis if there was a “good chance” that Brzustewicz might play against Detroit on Wednesday night.

“Yeah, pretty good chance,” replied Huska, via Flames TV. “I mean, we’re still talking about it right now, but he is a Michigan boy. So sometimes stuff like that factors into it as well.”

Brzustewicz made his NHL debut at the tail-end of last season in a Flames road win over the Los Angeles Kings.

A product of Washington Township, Michigan and a third-round selection by the Vancouver Canucks back in the 2023 NHL Draft, Brzustewicz joined the Flames organization via the Elias Lindholm trade, along with a Andrei Kuzmenko, Joni Jurmo, 2024 first-round pick (used to select Matvei Gridin), and a 2024 fourth-round pick (subsequently traded down and used to select Eric Jamieson and Luke Misa).

Brzustewicz is in his second season of pro hockey and has emerged as a very good all-situations defender for the Wranglers. His erstwhile blueliner partner last season, shutdown ace Yan Kuznetsov, was called up about a month ago and has carved himself out a spot on the left side of a very effective pairing alongside MacKenzie Weegar. No slouch himself, Brzustewicz could find himself on the right side of the third pairing on Wednesday, possibly alongside Joel Hanley.

The Flames have not thrown in the towel on the 2025-26 campaign, and their recent 7-2-1 run has them gaining ground on the playoff pack. But they also seem to have their eyes on the big picture, as the recent call-ups for Kuznetsov and Brzustewicz seem to suggest.

The Flames conclude their four game homestand on Wednesday against Detroit. They’ve won the first three games of that homestand. We’ll see if they can run the table.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...rzustewicz-plays-on-wednesday-against-detroit

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames Game Day 32: Welcoming the Red Wings to town (6:30pm MT, SN)

After three wins in three games so far on this homestand, the Calgary Flames (12-15-4, 28 points) will be aiming for a clean sweep on Wednesday evening. But they’ll face a stiff test in the form of the Detroit Red Wings (16-11-3, 35 points), a young, talented team that finally seems to be turning the corner. Can the Flames torch the Wings? Or will their winning ways come to an end?

Today’s broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. MT on Sportsnet’s national feed and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

The Flames​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Yegor Sharangovich – Nazem Kadri – Joel Farabee
Jonathan Huberdeau – Morgan Frost – Matt Coronato
Connor Zary – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman
Ryan Lomberg – John Beecher – Adam Klapka

Yan Kuznetsov – MacKenzie Weegar
Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – Hunter Brzustewicz

Based on reports from the rink from Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg, we’re projecting Devin Cooley to start in net, backed up by Dustin Wolf. The projected extras look to be Brayden Pachal and Dryden Hunt. It’ll be Brzustewicz’s first NHL game this season and the second of his NHL career.

The Flames are on a bit of a hot streak right now, posting a 7-2-1 record over their last 10 games. Their lineup has largely been stabilized since the injury to Sam Honzek and the arrival of Yan Kuznetsov, and we’ve seen merely slightly tweaks since mid-November. Consequently, we’ve also seen some of the most consistent play out of the Flames as a group as we’ve seen all season. Maybe there’s a connection there.

The Flames weren’t as bad as their opening 2-9-2 stretch suggested. We’re still trying to suss out just how good they are.

The Red Wings​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Emmitt Finnie – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Alex Debrincat – Andrew Copp – Patrick Kane
Elmer Soderblom – Nate Danielson – Marco Kasper
James van Riemsdyk – J.T. Compher – Michael Rasmussen

Simon Edvinsson – Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot – Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Albert Johansson – Jacob Bernard-Docker

We’re projecting John Gibson to start in net, backed up by Cam Talbot. The projected extras are Jonatan Berggren and Travis Hamonic.

The Red Wings have won three of their past four outings. This is the fourth game of a six game road trip. They’re 2-0-1 so far on this trip, and beat Vancouver by a 4-0 score on Monday night.

Three Wings are scoring at over a point-per-game pace: Dylan Larkin (32 points in 30 games), Lucas Raymond (32 points in 28 games) and Alex Debrincat (31 points in 30 games).

Unavailable players​

The Flames are without Martin Pospisil, Zayne Parekh, Sam Honzek and Jake Bean.

The Red Wings are without Mason Appleton.

The numbers​

Flames	Red Wings
12	Wins	16
28 (.452)	Points (%)	35 (.583)
52.8% (8th)	xGF%	51.3% (12th)
15.0% (29th)	PP%	24.0% (7th)
82.7% (8th)	PK%	79.0% (23rd)

Head to head​

This is the first of two games between these teams this season. They’ll finish the season series in Detroit on Mar. 16.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

This article is a presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the industry-leading 10-year, 160,000-kilometre powertrain warranty. Check out their showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca.

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-game-day-32-welcoming-the-red-wings-to-town-630pm-mt-sn

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Late Flames push not enough to ground Red Wings

Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

The Calgary Flames looked to complete the sweep of their four game homestand on Wednesday evening when they hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Unfortunately, that’s not what transpired. The Flames made too many defensive miscues early and Detroit’s big guns made them pay, and they just couldn’t claw all the way back.

The Flames concluded their homestand with a 4-3 loss to Detroit.

The rundown​

The Red Wings opened the scoring 62 seconds into this one. The Flames got caught up ice after making an offensive push, and that led to a four-on-three rush the other way. Patrick Kane found Alex Debrincat unattended to Devin Cooley’s right, and Debrincat’s one-timer beat the Flames’ netminder to give Detroit a 1-0 lead.

What a beauty of a pass from Patrick Kane to set Alex DeBrincat up for his 15th goal of the season. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/JGkClXWn11

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) December 11, 2025

A little later on, Detroit cashed in again. This time, the Red Wings had the puck in the Flames’ zone and threw it to the point for Debrincat. He threw a pass across a seam to Axel Sandin-Pellikka, again to Cooley’s right, and again his one-timer beat Cooley to give Detroit a 2-0 lead.

SANDIN-PELLIKKA One-time blast to make it 2-0 off a nice play with DeBrincat & Kane. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/jPgkdct0sb

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) December 11, 2025

Shots were 6-0 Detroit at one point, but then the Flames settled in a bit and made a bit of a push.

We got a scrum behind the Detroit net late in the period, as Adam Klapka whacked John Gibson after he had frozen the puck, leading to a crowd to form. Cooley skated to centre ice to monitor proceedings, but there was no goalie fight.

Gibson goes after Klapka after taking a whack, then mixes it up with Lomberg as a scrum breaks out. Cooley came to center ice but we weren't lucky enough to get the goalie fight. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/OHusjSkTub

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) December 11, 2025

First period shots were 8-7 Flames. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 13-5 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 3-1 Flames.

The Red Wings made it 3-0 early in the third period. Klapka recovered the puck after a Cooley save. But Andrew Copp pressured him into a defensive zone turnover, then fed the puck to Debrincat, who sniped the puck past Cooley.

DeBrincat's 2nd of the game from Copp, who did well to force the turnover. Cat on a 42 goal pace right now. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/5ZxNL4UW1Y

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) December 11, 2025

The Red Wings went up 4-0 awhile later. The Flames won an offensive zone draw but Rasmus Andersson’s shot went wide. The puck blooped out of the Red Wings’ zone and was collected by Dylan Larkin, who turned on the jets, cut to the front of the Flames’ net and chipped the puck past Cooley.

Larkin scores his team-leading 17th of the season to make it 4-0. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/ouMShdaqqy

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) December 11, 2025

Second period shots were 17-8 Flames. 5v5 scoring chances were 11-4 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 4-3 Flames.

The Flames got on the board midway through the third period. Joel Farabee got a shorthanded breakaway and drew a penalty shot after being hooked by Axel Sandin-Pellikka. On the ensuing penalty shot, he beat John Gibson with a great shot, low glove-side, to cut Detroit’s lead to 4-1.

Joel Farabee with the shorthanded penalty shot goal!

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/7YHJ0MgPiK

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) December 11, 2025

65 seconds later, the Flames managed to get another one. The Flames broke out of their own end, with Nazem Kadri carrying the puck into the Red Wings’ zone. He made a nice pass to Matt Coronato, entering the zone as the trailer, and Coronato beat Gibson to cut the Red Wings’ lead to 4-2.

Matt Coronato cuts the lead to 4-2!

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/SzEEbdhYMl

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) December 11, 2025

A little later, the Flames got within one. The Flames got into the Detroit zone and stacked some traffic in front of Gibson. MacKenzie Weegar fired a point shot that found a way through traffic and past Gibson to cut Detroit’s edge down to 4-3.

Just like that MacKenzie Weegar cuts the lead to 4-3!

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/HEtsXEojlX

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) December 11, 2025

The Flames pulled Cooley for the extra attacker late in regulation, but the Red Wings held on for the 4-3 victory.

Third period shots were 12-11 Flames.

Why the Flames lost​

The Flames weren’t all that bad tonight. But they also weren’t all that good, especially in the first two periods. They had a lot of shots, sure, but not a ton of dangerous scoring chances – not much traffic, deflections or secondary chances on John Gibson. And when the Flames made miscues, Detroit’s skill players were keen to make them suffer for them. The Flames were more effective in the third period, but it was too little, too late by that point.

Red Warrior​

Matt Coronato had seven shots and a nice goal in this game. He was really effectively, especially in the latter parts of this game.

Honourable mention to Nazem Kadri, who was also sharp late.

Turning point​

The Red Wings scored a couple goals in rapid succession in the second period. If they could’ve avoided that outburst, they may have had a chance to claw their way back into this game. Alas, four goals was a bridge too far for the Flames.

This and that​

Devin Cooley made his first start of the homestand. Hunter Brzustewicz made his season debut on the third pairing with Joel Hanley.

Joel Farabee’s penalty shot goal was the Flames’ first successful penalty shot since Game 4 of the Flames/Stars series in the 2022 playoffs, when Johnny Gaudreau scored. The last regular season penalty shot goal for the Flames was Mikael Backlund in October 2019.

After Burner​

Join Ryan Pinder and Mike Gould right after the game for After Burner!

Up next​

The Flames (12-16-4) are headed back on the road. They’ll head west to face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

This article is a Presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-late-flames-push-not-enough-to-ground-red-wings

 

[Calgary Flames]

What’s Going On In the Pacific Division: The Flames are back in the playoff hunt

Don’t let the Calgary Flames get hot.

The Flames are back from the dead, as they’ve gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 to move to just four points out of a playoff spot. All eight Pacific Division teams in relative striking distance of a post-season spot, well, aside from the Vancouver Canucks.

This is What’s Going On In the Pacific Division, the weekly article where we look at how teams from the division fared, as well as setting up the following week. Let’s take a look at the week that was.

Anaheim Ducks​

The Anaheim Ducks are back on track, as they’ve won their last three games. On Friday, they defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 in a shootout, followed by a 7-1 smashing of the Chicago Blackhawks. They needed another shootout game, also defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in a skills competition. They sit first in the Pacific Division.

Their game against the Penguins marked the start of a five-game Eastern Conference road trip. They’ll play the New York Islanders on Thursday, the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the New York Rangers on Monday, and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Calgary Flames​

Evidently, the Calgary Flames didn’t get the memo that Gavin McKenna is well worth the future of the franchise, as they had a strong week. They defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Thursday, the Utah Mammoth 2-0 on Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres 7-4 on Monday, but fell 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday. Although they lost, they almost erased a 4-0 deficit with just 12 minutes left in the game.

Was it just a fluke? Was it just success at home? We’ll see, as the head on the road to play the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Edmonton Oilers​

For the first time all season, the Edmonton Oilers had a good week. They smashed the Seattle Kraken 9-4 on Thursday, then beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-2, before falling 4-3 in overtime to the Buffalo Sabres. It took a third period comeback to overcome a 3-0 deficit, as well as a last second goal for the Oilers to salvage a point from the Sabres. The Sabres are still searching for their first regulation win on the road.

This week, the Oilers play one more home game on their five-game homestand, hosting the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. They’ll hit the road on an Eastern Conference road trip, playing the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Montréal Canadiens on Sunday, and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Los Angeles Kings​

It was an okay week for the Los Angeles Kings. They fell 2-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, but got that win back by smashing them 6-0 on Saturday. With a 4-2 win on Monday against the Utah Mammoth, the Kings made it two wins in a row, but fell 3-2 in overtime to the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.

This week, the Kings will make a stop at home to host the Calgary Flames on Saturday, before heading on the road again to face the Dallas Stars on Monday and the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.

San Jose Sharks​

The San Jose Sharks aren’t going away, as they sit just one point out of a playoff spot. It wasn’t the best week for the young team, as they fell 4-1 to the Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers, but managed their own 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes sandwiched between the two losses.

Their last three games have been on the road, and that road trip continues with a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. They’ll return home to host the Flames on Tuesday.

Seattle Kraken​

It was a rough week for the Seattle Kraken. They were blown out 9-4 by the Edmonton Oilers, then lost 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings and 4-1 to the Minnesota Wild. Their week was salvaged with a 3-2 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.

The Kraken’s last three games were at home, but they’ll hit the road for one game, a matchup in Salt Lake City against the Utah Mammoth on Friday. They’ll then return home to host the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday and the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

Vancouver Canucks​

It wasn’t a great week for the Vancouver Canucks, as they fell 4-1 to the Utah Mammoth, defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-2 on Saturday, but were back in the loss column on Monday, losing 4-0 to the Detroit Red Wings. The Canucks are sitting at the bottom of the league and mired in trade rumours surrounding captain Quinn Hughes. Things aren’t going great.

Next week, they’ll face exclusively Eastern Conference teams. They host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, before embarking on a five-game Eastern Conference road trip, with their first two games against the New Jersey Devils (Sunday) and New York Rangers (Tuesday).

Vegas Golden Knights​

Another team currently on an Eastern Conference road trip are the Vegas Golden Knights. On Friday, they defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-0, then beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime on Sunday. Their four-game winning streak was snapped at the hands of the New York Islanders, as they fell 5-4 in a shootout to Matthew Schaefer and co.

Their Eastern Conference road trip continues for two more games, facing the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. They’ll then return home to face the Devils on Wednesday.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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[Calgary Flames]

Throwback Thursday: Looking at the Craig Conroy and Mike Cammalleri trades with the Kings

On Saturday, the Calgary Flames will play their first game against the Los Angeles Kings in 2025-26.

There have been two notable trades between the two teams in the 21st century, which is what we’ll cover in this edition of Throwback Thursday. The two trades are the Craig Conroy trade and the Mike Cammalleri trade.

Both players played for not just the Flames and the Kings, but also the Montréal Canadiens. That’s where Conroy started his career, as the Original Six team drafted him 123rd overall in the 1990 draft. After just 13 games over two seasons, Conroy was traded to the St. Louis Blues early into the 1996-97 season.

In parts of five seasons with the Blues, Conroy scored 97 goals and 308 points in 507 games, until the Blues sent him and a 2007 seventh-round pick to the Flames for Cory Stillman. Over parts of the next four seasons, Conroy scored 60 goals and 188 points in 237 points, helping the Flames make it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004.

After their run to the Stanley Cup Final, Conroy signed a three-year deal with the Kings, missing the first season due to the infamous 2004-05 lockout. He scored 22 goals and 66 points in 78 games in 2005-06, but his production dropped the following season, scoring just five goals and 16 points in 52 games.

On Jan. 29, 2007, the Flames sent Jamie Lundmark, a 2007 fourth round pick (Dwight King) and a 2008 second (Mitch Wahl) to the Flames for Conroy, more on that pick in a bit. The current Flames’ general manager regained his scoring touch, scoring eight goals and 21 points in the final 28 games. Conroy’s final four seasons came with the Flames, scoring 29 goals and 99 points in 242, and retiring after the 2010-11 season.

Cammalleri was already on the Kings when Conroy signed with them in 2004-05. Drafted 49th overall, Cammalleri found moderate success in his first two seasons, scoring 14 goals and 23 points in 59 games in 2002-03 and 2003-04.

The ability to produce was always there, and he finally started to do so in 2005-06, scoring 26 goals and 55 points in 80 games in 2005-06. In 2006-07, Cammalleri scored 34 goals and 80 points in 81 games, then 19 goals and 47 points in 63 games coming in the 2007-08 season.

Shortly after the 2007-08 season ended, the Kings traded him and a 2008 second round pick to the Flames for a 2008 first-round pick and a 2009 second-round pick. That pick was Mitch Wahl, meaning the Flames have had a Wahl, a Bahl, and a Dahl in their organization. As for what the Kings received, that first turned out to be Jake Gardiner, while the second-rounder was used to select Brian Dumoulin.

Cammalleri had his career-best season in 2008-09, scoring 39 goals and 82 points in 81 games, along with a goal and three points in six post-season games. The Flames were unable to sign him that off-season, with Cammalleri departing for the Canadiens.

In his first season with the Canadiens, he scored 26 goals and 50 points in 65 games, but exploded for 13 goals and 19 points in 19 games as the eighth-seeded Canadiens went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Cammalleri scored seven-fewer goals in 2010-11, potting 19 goals and 47 assists, as he scored three goals and 10 points in seven post-season games. That turned out to be the final time he played in the playoffs.

Through 38 games with the Canadiens in 2011-12, he scored nine goals and 22 points, but was traded back to the Flames alongside Karri Ramo and a 2012 fifth-round pick for Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland, and a 2013 second-round pick. Neither player selected with either of those picks went on to do much in the National Hockey League.

Cammalleri ended the 2011-12 season with 11 goals and 19 points in 28 games. Due to the 2012-13 lockout, the winger played just 44 games, scoring 13 goals and 32 points. In his final season as a Flame, Cammalleri scored 26 goals and 45 points in 63 games.

The 2014 off-season saw Cammalleri sign a five-year deal with the New Jersey Devils, scoring 27 goals and 42 points in 68 games, the final time in his career he’d score 20 goals. In 42 games the following season, the Toronto, Ontario native scored 14 goals and 38 points in 42 games, then 10 goals and 31 points in 61 games during the 2016-17 season. That off-season, he was bought out and returned to the Kings.

Cammalleri played just 15 games with the Kings in 2017-18, scoring three goals and seven points in 15 games. For the final time in his career, he was traded, this time to the Edmonton Oilers where he’d score four goals and 22 points in 51 games, ending his career after the 2017-18 season.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/throwb...roy-and-mike-cammalleri-trades-with-the-kings

 

[Calgary Flames]

NHL Notebook: Oilers make a flurry of moves

The Edmonton Oilers have finally made a move to address their goaltending situation.

On Friday morning, the first major trade of the 2025-26 season went down, as the Oilers traded former Calgary Flame Brett Kulak, Stuart Skinner, and a 2029 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Tristan Jarry and Sam Poulin.

In a subsequent move to replace Kulak, the Oilers sent a 2027 third-round pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for left-shot defenceman Spencer Stastney. These two moves came a day after the Oilers placed Jack Roslovic and Connor Clattenburg on injured reserve, and Jake Walman to long-term injured reserve. In recent times, the Oilers have also called up Riley Stillman and Max Jones.

To say it’s been a busy couple of days for the Oilers would be an understatement. Jarry, who was available to be claimed on waivers last season, has had a nice bounce-back season, posting a .909 save percentage and 2.66 save percentage in 14 games, after an .893 save percentage and 3.09 save percentage in 36 games last season.

For his career, the 30-year-old has a .909 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average, with his best season coming in 2021-22 where he had a .919 save percentage and 2.42 goals against average in 58 games.

It’s a high-risk, high-reward type of move for the Oilers, as Jarry has been injured numerous times throughout his career. On the other hand, Skinner has been a durable netminder who still has potential. This season has been rough, as he has an .891 save percentage and 2.83 goals against average in 23 games, but has shown to be a goalie capable of carrying a team when he’s locked in.

Kulak posted a career-high seven goals and 25 points in 82 games last season, but has regressed in 2025-26, picking up just two assists in 31 games. Stastney is set to be his replacement, as the 25-year-old is six years younger than Kulak and has a goal and nine points in 30 games this season.

Logan Cooley out for at least eight weeks​

The Utah Mammoth received some bad news on Thursday, as they announced that Logan Cooley is set to be out for at least eight weeks due to a lower-body injury.

Statement from General Manager Bill Armstrong: pic.twitter.com/79TCDx799j

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 11, 2025

It’s a big blow for the Mammoth, who sit just two points out of the final Wild Card spot. Cooley, drafted third overall in 2022, has scored 14 goals and 23 points in 29 games this season. His 14 goals still lead the team, while he’s tied for fourth in scoring. Last season, Cooley finished with 25 goals and 65 points, second on the team in points and third in goals.

They’ll have to weather the storm over the coming two months as just six points separate the first Wild Card spot and the second-to-last spot in the Western Conference.

Charlie McAvoy back in the lineup​

One team that did weather the storm of losing one of their top players were the Boston Bruins. Charlie McAvoy took a puck to the face on Nov. 15, but returned to the Bruins lineup on Thursday.

And what a return it was for the 27-year-old right-shot defenceman. He picked up an assist in the Bruins’ 6-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, finishing the night as a +4. For the season, he has no goals but 15 assists in 20 games this season.

McAvoy is among the league’s best defenders, but has played just 70 games over the past two seasons after scoring 12 goals and 47 points in 74 games in 2023-24. He dealt with a scary infection after an injury suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off last season.

It’s a big boost for the Bruins, as the Original Six team currently sits second in the Atlantic Division thanks to a 19-13-0 record. They’re tied for points with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but have played one additional game.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/nhl-notebook-oilers-make-a-flurry-of-moves

 

[Calgary Flames]

NHL Notebook: Canucks trade Quinn Hughes to Wild

One of the best defencemen in the National Hockey League is on the move.

Shortly after Friday evening’s NHL Notebook was posted, the Vancouver Canucks shocked the world. They traded captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Öhgren, and a 2026 first round pick.

Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a first https://t.co/qrawIKD4Ov

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 13, 2025

Hughes’ name had been in trade rumours as of late, being connected to the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, and a handful of other teams. The Wild came out of nowhere to land one of the league’s best defencemen.

It’s been a tough season for the left-shot defenceman, at least by his stands, as he has just two goals and 23 points in 26 games, after scoring 16 goals and 76 points in 68 games last season. The season before that was his career best, as Hughes scored 17 goals and 92 points in 82 games as the Canucks finished first in the Pacific Division in 2023-24.

With just a season and a half on his contract, the Wild cannot extend Hughes until Jul. 1 of next year, so there is some significant risk in making this trade. That said, the Wild are beginning to look like one of the strongest teams in the league.

It was a haul to give up for Hughes. Buium made his NHL debut in the 2025 playoffs, but started the 2025-26 season on the Wild’s roster. In 31 games, the 20-year-old left-shot defenceman has three goals and 14 points in 31 games. Öhgren was the Wild’s 19th overall pick in 2022, and he has just three goals and seven points through 46 NHL games so far in his young career.

The most experienced piece going to the Canucks is Rossi. Drafted ninth overall in the 2020 draft, Kevin Bahl’s former teammate scored a career-high 24 goals and 60 points last season, with two goals and three points in six post-season games. The Canucks finally get their second-line centre they’ve been after, but lost their franchise defenceman in the process.

Bo Horvat out week-to-week​

It’s not the first time the Canucks have traded a captain, as back in 2023, they sent Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders. Well, the centre will be out week-to-week after leaving Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury.

Hearing 1-3 weeks. #Isles https://t.co/x0Xkd4R1vj

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) December 12, 2025

It’s a tough loss for the Islanders, as Horvat was on pace to have the best season of his career. Through 31 games played this season, he had 19 goals and 31 points. That’s on pace for 48 goals and 79 points over the course of 82 games, which would smash his career-best of 38 goals and 70 points he had set in 2022-23.

After missing the playoffs in 2024-25, the Islanders won the draft lottery to land Matthew Schaefer, turning their fortunes around rather quickly. In 32 games this season, the Islanders are 18-11-3, giving them 39 points. They are just one point back (with two additional games played) of the Carolina Hurricanes for top in the Metropolitan Division.

Connor Bedard left Friday’s game with injury​

In the final second of Friday’s game against the St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard was tangled up on a faceoff and left the ice in some discomfort.

Connor Bedard left the ice in discomfort, holding his shoulder at the very end of tonight's loss @ STL. pic.twitter.com/6LVV3D4SGr

— Daily Faceoff – Fantasy (@DFOFantasy) December 13, 2025

Bedard was drafted first overall by the Blackhawks in the 2023 with plenty of hype. His first two seasons in the league were good, but not great, scoring 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games in his rookie season, and 23 goals and 67 points in 82 games in his sophomore season.

Finally, it looks like the right-shot centre is living up to the promise. Through 31 games this season, the 20-year-old has 19 goals and 44 points. Bedard is on pace for 50 goals and 116 points, and has arguably positioned himself to earn a spot on Team Canada’s Olympic roster in February.

Hopefully, it’s a lot less serious than it looks.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/nhl-notebook-canucks-trade-quinn-hughes-to-wild

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames grind out road win in Los Angeles

Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

The Calgary Flames began a two game road trip, with their fathers, brothers and mentors in tow, on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings. The Flames and Kings did what they tend to do: play a low-scoring, tight-checking, scrappy brand of hockey.

The Flames ended up beating their divisional rivals, picking up a 2-1 overtime win over the Kings.

The rundown​

The Kings opened the scoring midway through the first period. The Flames pressed and had a couple strong scoring chances, but couldn’t bury them. The Kings brought the puck up ice the other way. Yan Kuznetsov and MacKenzie Weegar lined up with their checks, but the forwards seemed to lose track of Adrian Kempe. Bad idea, as Kempe blasted a one-timer feed from Alex Laferriere past Dustin Wolf to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

KING KEMPE pic.twitter.com/OG2jpmICUN

— NHL (@NHL) December 14, 2025

Later in the period, Wolf made a superb glove save on Kevin Fiala on an odd-man rush.

What a save by Dustin Wolf!!

Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/UhR3n9PavK

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) December 14, 2025

First period shots were 13-7 Flames. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 11-9 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 5-3 Flames.

As they approached the midway mark of the second frame, the Flames tied things up. With Kevin Bahl in the penalty box, Blake Coleman made a savvy play, anticipating the Kings were going to cycle the puck to the point and intercepting the pass. He raced through the neutral zone and beat Darcy Kuemper glove-side on his shorthanded breakaway to tie the game at 1-1.

Blake Coleman with a shorthanded goal, and we are tied!

Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/7zhUQoflSb

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) December 14, 2025

Second period shots were 17-3 Flames. 5v5 scoring chances were 7-7 and high-danger scoring chances were 4-1 Flames.

Neither team scored in the third period, but both teams had their looks.

Third period shots were 11-7 Kings. 5v5 scoring chances were 9-5 Kings and high-danger scoring chances were 3-1 Kings.

This game required extra time to determine a winner.

33 seconds into overtime, it appeared that Anze Kopitar had redirected an Adrian Kempe pass legally into the net, but it was overturned by the Situation Room for a distinct kicking motion being present.

33 seconds after Kopitar’s overturned goal, the Flames got a three-on-one rush. Jonathan Huberdeau found Morgan Frost streaking towards the net and Frost raised Huberdeau’s feed over top of a sprawling Kuemper to give the Flames a goal and a 2-1 overtime win.

IT'S AN OVERTIME WINNER FROM MORGAN FROST!!!

Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/3Ii5DhqvhZ

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) December 14, 2025

Why the Flames won​

This was a pretty strong road game for the Flames. They didn’t take a ton of penalties. They managed the puck well. They forechecked well. They got good goaltending. They got a ton of shots on net. Yeah, they probably could’ve gotten more tips and traffic in front of Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper. Yeah, their power play wasn’t all that great. But playing against a Kings team that hasn’t been a world-beater this season, the Flames did what they had to do to keep the game close and then took advantage of an opportunity in overtime to get the extra point.

Red Warrior​

Let’s give it to Blake Coleman, whose shorthanded beauty tied up the game and gave the Flames a chance to win.

But heck, not many guys had “bad” nights. This was a good team effort.

Turning point​

The Flames played well enough to deserve a point, but that overturned Kings overtime goal followed immediately by the Frost game-winner seems like a good candidate for this one.

This and that​

Dustin Wolf started in net after backing up Devin Cooley on Wednesday night.

Mikael Backlund left the game both late in the first period and late in the second period, ultimately missing the entirety of the third frame. In his absence, Morgan Frost and Nazem Kadri got extra shifts playing between Blake Coleman and Connor Zary.

With it being the Dads Trip, Morgan Frost’s father, former Toronto Maple Leafs public address announcer Andy Frost, announced the starting lineup in the Flames’ locker room.

Andy's still got it pic.twitter.com/4z5RvFc1sr

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) December 14, 2025

After Burner​

Join Jordan and Mike from the In The Dome podcast right after the game for After Burner!

Up next​

The Flames (13-16-4) are headed north… but staying in California. They’ll face the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night to close out their road trip.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/instant-reaction-flames-grind-out-road-win-in-los-angeles

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames’ Zayne Parekh aiming to make the most of his World Junior experience

On Saturday in Niagara Falls, Calgary Flames defenceman Zayne Parekh did something he hasn’t done a lot of over the past month: he participated in a full practice. Only this time, it was at Hockey Canada’s World Junior training camp in Niagara Falls, as Parekh prepares to suit up for the national junior team for the first time.

“I’ve done a contact skate [with the Flames],” noted Parekh, speaking to reporters after the first on-ice session. “But when you’re in the NHL, skates are really only morning skates and you’re not getting any bumps. Definitely shied into it at first, but I felt really good. Like, my shoulder feels good. Maybe a little bit behind in the conditioning.”

For the first couple of days of Canada’s training camp, Parekh has been situated on the right side of a pairing alongside Cameron Reid, the current captain of the Kitchener Rangers and a first-round selection in 2025 by the Nashville Predators. Parekh liked the potential of the duo, likening them to the Zeev Buium/Cole Hutson pairing for the United States at last year’s event.

“He was telling me that he’s just gonna let me go and just kinda do my thing,” said Parekh. “And I told him, I’m like, well, you’re just as good as I am with the puck and we’re going to find some chemistry there and it’s going to be, I think, a really good D pairing.”

Parekh has been with the Flames all season, but hasn’t played since suffering an injury back on Nov. 7. Parekh spoke about how well he’s been treated by the Flames locker room, singling out MacKenzie Weegar, Brayden Pachal and Joel Hanley, but also noted his excitement being around a younger group at the World Juniors.

“It’s nice to be around a bunch of young kids again, not adults,” said Parekh. “Because here, we’re going to hang out every second of the day. It’s really different in the NHL where guys have families and kids. It’s tough to really spend time away from the rink with those guys. It’s really nice to be in this environment again, I miss it.”

Parekh noted that he’s been working on his play away from the puck while with the Flames, explaining the focus was “using his brain instead of kind of running around.” But he seems to have a pretty clear focus returning to the under-20 level for the next little bit.

“I’m just trying to build some more confidence so that when I go back, I can make the plays I know I’m capable of,” said Parekh.

(With files from Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis.)

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