RSS Flames Team Notes

[Calgary Flames]

Recap: Wranglers fall 5-2 in frustrating game against Roadrunners

The Calgary Wranglers played their first post-holiday game on Saturday on the road against the Tucson Roadrunners. The Roadrunners had the edge for most of the game and got scoring going early. They got out to a 4-0 lead by the halfway mark of the game and penalties stacked up in the back half of the game. Despite the frustrations, the Wranglers managed to get two goals but fell in this game with a final score of 5-2.

Lineup notes​

Alex Gallant made his return to the lineup after serving a two game suspension. Him back on the fourth line kicked out Lucas Ciona from the lineup. This and a swap between the pipes were the only changes from the last game the Wranglers played on Sunday, Dec. 21st.

Wranglers lines​

Dryden Hunt – Rory Kerins – Martin Frk

William Stromgren – Sam Morton – Matvei Gridin

Carter King – Clark Bishop – Parker Bell

Alex Gallant – David Silye – Andrew Basha

Artem Grushnikov – Daniil Miromanov

Nick Cicek – Etienne Morin

Jeremie Poirier – Turner Ottenbreit

Owen Say

Game at a glance​

Calgary went back to Owen Say to kick off this series and the Roadrunners opted to start Matthew Villalta for this game. There weren’t many shots in the first few minutes of the game and the first penalty came at 6:13, when Owen Allar was called for tripping. Calgary wasn’t able to register any shots on goal on this chance and about a minute after this penalty expired, the Roadrunners opened the scoring off a one- timer from Sam Lipkin at 9:19 he put between Say and the near post.

The Roadrunners continued to push then Calgary was able to take the puck back the other way for a few minutes before the home team added another tally to their lead at 18:33. It was a very similar goal with Tucson beating Say this time over the other shoulder. That was the last of the scoring action in the first period and the Wranglers trailed the Roadrunners 2-0 after 20 minutes. Shots through the first were 6-5 Tucson.

Early in the second period, Clark Bishop was called for tripping. This call game just 28 seconds in and the Utah Mammoth affiliates managed four shots on this special teams opportunity. At 3:03, Martin Frk appeared to have scored and jammed the puck over the line but after it was reviewed, the play was whistled dead before the goal and Martin Frk made contact with Villalta, so it did not count.

It continued to be mostly Tucson through the opening minutes of the frame and at 4:12, the home team made it a 3-0 game off another one timer on an odd man rush. Owen Allard was the goal scorer for this one.

At 6:42, the Wranglers were back in the box when Nick Cicek was called for holding. Seconds before this penalty expired, the Roadrunners added another goal at 8:39 off a bar down shot from the offensive zone faceoff circle to make it a 4-0 game.

Calgary got a bit of life after this goal and were on the power play at 11:06. After this power play, they scored their first goal of the night at 14:09. Artem Grushnikov took the shot and Martin Frk redirected it in front to make it a 4-1 game. Rory Kerins picked up the secondary assist.

Artem Grushnikov's shot is redirected by Martin Frk to put the Wranglers on the board pic.twitter.com/4dgYgGCnQW

— Paige Siewert (@thathockeygirly) December 28, 2025

The Wranglers had six more shots on goal before the end of the period then at 19:32, Turner Ottenbreit and Ben McCartney were called for offsetting roughing minors that carried into the third. At the end of 40 minutes, the Wranglers were behind 4-1 and outshot the Roadrunners 14-12 in the middle frame.

Calgary led the charge in the third but lost a bit of momentum at 4:17 when Rory Kerins was called for slashing. The visitors managed to keep the Roadrunners at bay on this power play, not allowing any shots. Calgary put up a few shots on goal then at 8:28, right after Sam Morton’s shot, he snowed the goalie and a scrum erupted.

Matvei Gridin was pushed down to the ice and Nick Cicek and William Stromgren were being quite vocal. After a lengthy review, it resulted in a power play for the Roadrunners with four Wranglers and three Roadrunners in the box. Calls were roughing minors for Scott Perunovich, Matvei Gridin, Owen Allard and Sam Morton then 10 minute misconducts against Owen Allard, William Stromgren and Sam Morton.

At 10:56, the Wranglers got another one on the board with a smooth one timer set up from Martin Frk to the stick of Dryden Hunt. Rory Kerins also picked up his second assist of the night on this marker.

A smooth one timer from Dryden Hunt gives the Wranglers their second goal of the night pic.twitter.com/LXIQJUSlFG

— Paige Siewert (@thathockeygirly) December 28, 2025

The next penalty went against the Roadrunners when Scott Perunovich was called for interference. At 17:29, the Wranglers pulled Owen Say for the extra attacker then at 18:51, Martin Frk tried to defend a shot into the empty net and accidentally deflected it in. Frk sat on his knees on the ice in frustration and Dmitri Simashev was credited with the goal.

Owen Say came back out to finish the game and at 19:29, every guy on the ice was given a 10 minute misconduct call and they all left the ice early. On the Wranglers end, this affected Nick Cicek, Alex Gallant, David Silye, Sam Morton and Andrew Basha. Nick Cicek also got an unsportsmanlike conduct minor so the home team finished the game on the man advantage.

While they were making their way off, Maveri Lamoureux was egging on the crowd to cheer and Turner Ottenbreit took issue with that. This rink needed players to exit from the end of the boards rather than behind the bench so Ottenbreit went over to stop Lamoureux and give him a piece of his mind but the officials stopped this from escalating further. Lamoureux was escorted off after this.

This scenario also required quite a lengthy review from the officials and when the game finally ended, the Roadrunners won 5-2. Shots finished 29-22 for Calgary.

Scoring stat summary​

Artem Grushnikov – 1A

Rory Kerins – 2A

Dryden Hunt – 1G

Martin Frk – 1G, 1A

Next up​

This series continues into Sunday afternoon and if this game is any indication of what’s in store for their next meeting, it could be an emotional one. The tensions were firing up towards the end of this game and with the turnaround being so quick, there’s sure to be some boil over. Game two between these squads goes at 4:00 p.m. MT.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/recap-wranglers-fall-5-2-in-frustrating-game-against-roadrunners

 

[Calgary Flames]

FlamesNation Mailbag: One last mailbag for 2025

Friends, we’re at the tail-end of 2025 and it’s been a weird year for the Calgary Flames. But after a really ugly start to the season, going 2-9-2 over their first 13 games, they’re looking pretty good and finding ways to win.

As we ponder the future, and the start of 2026, let’s delve into the mailbag!

What are the chances the Flames upper management get delusional and decide to go for it and trade no-one other than Anderson? If and when they miss the playoffs without a trade for picks would this set the team back on a rebuild?

— Richard Junkar (@RichardJunkar) December 29, 2025

I mean this with nothing but love for the fanbase: uh, what has Craig Conroy done over the past two years that makes you think he’s going to suddenly decide to load up the team and try to make a playoff run? Since taking the job, aside from re-upping with Mikael Backlund twice, he’s pretty consistently moved on from their veteran players when the opportunity presented itself. And he’s gotten fairly decent value, we’d argue.

I’d put the chances they double-down on the existing group at 10%. I still fully expect some veterans to move out, though I don’t think they’ll do any sort of gigantic tear-down. “Strategic sell” is the watch word. The Flames want to get value for their players, but they’re not gonna push anyone overboard just because they can.

In your ideal world, if Cgy actually committed to a rebuild and you were the GM, what would you want the roster to look like?

— Ekim (@MichaelMcL83445) December 28, 2025

I agree with the premise that rebuilding teams need to have some veterans to (a) insulate their younger players and (b) mentor their younger players. I think in an ideal world, you have some “tough minutes,” defensive-minded veterans to allow your younger players to have opportunities to have puck touches and generate offence (and confidence with the puck). That’s why Mikael Backlund (and Blake Coleman) are so valuable to the Flames. Having a team full of rookies who lose 5-1 every night isn’t great for development, so you need to find ways to keep your team in games.

Ryan, seeing Parekh at the worlds excites me for what is to come for him as a Flame. How do you think this season would have played out for him if he was a full time Wrangler? Keep up the great work! Loving the walk and talks this season!

— Big Daddy (@bigdaddybustard) December 29, 2025

I would point to how the Wranglers brought along Hunter Brzustewicz last season: he played a ton, almost always with two-way ace Yan Kuznetsov, and he quickly figured out his 200-foot game because he was playing with someone who could help him with the things he wasn’t great at and help him figure things out as the season went along.

For Zayne Parekh, having someone like Joel Hanley to play with when he’s back with the big club after the World Juniors could be helpful for him. But I’m also very curious how the Flames will juggle all their defenders when the World Juniors are over.

How surprised are you to see the Flames being only a few points away from a wild card position at this point of the season?

— Ed Helinski (@MrEd315) December 28, 2025

I would say “not really,” and primarily because (a) the Flames aren’t as bad as they looked in October and (b) the Western Conference is, aside from a few great teams, pretty mediocre this season. As a result, basically everybody is within a stone’s throw of a playoff spot this season.

Any updates on Pospisil and when he may return?

— David McLean (@davidmclean81) December 28, 2025

Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson spotted Martin Pospisil skating prior to Sunday’s practice at Winsport. The Flames are hoping that Pospisil can keep progressing and join full practices in the New Year. We’ll see if that translates to Pospisil returning to game action in the first part of 2026.

How does it feel to get mentioned by the great Scott Oake on Hockey Night in Canada. What an honor. All your hard work is paying off.

— Mike Kennelly (@MikeKennelly7) December 29, 2025

Scott Oake is good people. It’s always surreal to be mentioned on television and pretty cool as someone that grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada. I will also point out that the real star here is Dustin Wolf, who’s played more NHL games than nearly one-third of the first-rounders from his draft class.

Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan.Pike [at] BetterCollective.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnation-mailbag-one-last-mailbag-for-2025

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames grind out overtime win over Bruins

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 were in action for the second-to-last time in the 2025 calendar year on Monday night when they hosted the Boston Bruins. And while there are some National Hockey League games that are excellent examples of skill and speed, Monday’s outing was a bit of a clunker for both teams.

In a game that was a bit of a slog for both units, the Flames skated to a 2-1 overtime win over Boston.

The rundown​

The first period was fairly back and forth, but a bit of a slog, as it seemed like both teams were struggling to really get traction with their games. Both teams traded first period power plays, with Boston getting a few good looks but failing to beat Dustin Wolf.

However, late in the period the Bruins managed to cash in. On a bit of a broken play, Andrew Peeke had the puck in the corner of the Flames zone and opted to drive the net. He didn’t seem to get good wood on the puck as he crashed the net, but the puck trickled through Wolf’s pads and into the net. The Flames challenged for goaltender interference, as Peeke’s foot did seem to make contact with Wolf’s right pad as he drove the net, but it was deemed a clean goal and Boston went up 1-0.

Andrew Peeke opens the scoring for Boston.

The Flames were unsuccessful with a goalie interference challenge. They are going to the PK because of it.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/JRnd5B8W9Z

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 30, 2025

First period shots were 8-8. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 10-5 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 4-2 Flames.

The second period remained back and forth, again with both teams having good looks.

Midway through the period, the Flames managed to get one back and tie the game. Mikael Backlund’s line got a bit of sustained zone time and got a bit of a cycle play going, with Backlund passing to Blake Coleman in the slot area. Coleman’s shot beat Jeremy Swayman to tie the game up at 1-1.

FLAMES GOAL

Blake Coleman scores his team leading 12th goal of the season!

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 30, 2025

Second period shots were 9-7 Flames. 5v5 scoring chances were 6-5 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 2-2.

The third frame was a bit of a slog, with both teams getting looks but the Flames struggling to put the puck on the net and neither team really generating any dangerous-looking opportunities.

Third period shots were 8-1 Bruins. 5v5 scoring chances were 4-0 Bruins and high-danger scoring chances were 1-0 Bruins.

This game went to overtime, with the Flames starting with a four-on-three power play after Coleman drew a high-sticking minor at the tail-end of the third period. Wolf made a big shorthanded save on Pavel Zacha (and then Nikita Zadorov’s subsequent chance was also stopped).

Dustin Wolf makes a couple incredible saves in overtime!

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 30, 2025

Connor Zary jammed in a rebound off a Yegor Sharangovich initial chance to give the Flames a 2-1 overtime win.

FLAMES GOAL

Connor Zary wins the game in overtime for Calgary!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/IxaBN3gf8Y

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 30, 2025

Why the Flames won​

Sometimes, folks, getting offence going is like trying to get ketchup out of a bottle. The Flames just seemed to be fighting the puck a lot in this game. They were able to get zone time and near-miss chances, but this was one of those evenings where passes seemed to just elude their intended recipient (or the recipient couldn’t get good contact on a shot). Heck, if we’re being honest: neither team seemed to be feeling it offensively.

But the Flames finally managed to cash in on their fifth power play (after Wolf made a gigantic save in overtime) and it was enough to win this one.

Red Warrior​

We’ll give the nod to Blake Coleman, who scored the Flames’ lone goal in regulation and was consistently noticeable on the ice.

Honourable mention to Dustin Wolf: he wasn’t overly busy, but he had to make a few huge stops at key times.

Turning point​

Wolf’s overtime save(s) followed by Zary’s game-winner.

This and that​

Prior to the anthems, the Flames observed a moment of silence to recognize the passing of former Flames forward Guy Chouinard.

The Flames busted out some new line combinations, shuffling some players around: Connor Zary was with Jonathan Huberdeau and Morgan Frost, Matt Coronato was reunited with Blake Coleman and Mikael Backlund, and John Beecher slotted back in on the fourth line in place of Justin Kirkland.

After Burner​

Join Dean “Boomer” Molberg and Kent Wilson right after the game for After Burner!

Up next​

The Flames (17-18-4) are back in action on New Year’s Eve when they host the Philadelphia Flyers.

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

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames Prospect Roundup: Cullen Potter has started to get hot

The holiday break is over for many prospects.

This is the Dec. 22-29 edition of the Flames prospect round-up, where we look at how Calgary 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.

We’ll take a look at the games which were played, who’ll return to action this next week (and who is out with injury) as well as look at the standings.

Cullen Potter​

Cullen Potter has gotten hot for the Arizona State Sun Devils. They returned to action this past weekend, defeating Dartmouth 5-1 in the first game, but falling 4-1 in the second game. Potter scored a goal and had an assist in the win, and scored their only goal in the loss. For the season, the 18-year-old is up to eight goals and 19 points in 20 games.

Cullen Potter makes it THREE for the Devils pic.twitter.com/JA7ylFaRZC

— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) December 28, 2025

This week, the Sun Devils participate in the Desert Hockey Classic tournament, and will take on Alaska Anchorage on Friday. If they win that game, they’ll face the winner of Air Force and Michigan Tech.

Mace’o Phillips​

One storyline heading into the holiday break was the Green Bay Gamblers’ winning streak. Well, Mace’o Phillips and the Gamblers won two more games this past week to bring their winning streak to 13 games. They defeated the Dubuque Fighting Saints twice, once by a score of 6-3, then by a score of 3-2 in overtime. Mace’o Phillips was held pointless in both games.

The Gamblers return to action on New Year’s Eve, facing off against the Madison Capitols. They also play a two-game set against Des Moines Buccaneers on Saturday and Sunday.

Jacob Battaglia​

Jacob Battaglia and the Kingston Frontenacs played one game this week, falling 5-3 to the Ottawa 67’s to snap their five-game winning streak. Battaglia was held pointless in this game, as he has 12 goals and 23 points in 33 games, well below the 40 goals and 90 points he had in 68 games last season.

This week, the Frontenacs host the Guelph Storm on New Year’s Eve, head to Peterborough to face the Petes on New Year’s Day, then return home to host the 67’s on Friday.

Kirill Zarubin​

Kirill Zarubin and Mikhailov Academy were in action twice this past week, defeating Yegor Yegorov and JHC Sparktak-MAX 6-2, then beat Krylya Sovetov 4-3. The Russian netminder played both games, stopping 32 of 34 shots in the 6-2 win and 27 of 30 shots in the 4-3 win. This season, Zarubin has a .934 save percentage and 1.92 goals against average in 26 games played.

Mikhailov Academy isn’t in action again until Jan. 6, so they won’t be included in next week’s article.

Trevor Hoskin​

This article was going to be written on Monday, but both Mace’o Phillips and Trevor Hoskin played on Monday evening. Well, Hoskin picked up an assist in Merrimack’s 5-4 win over Vermont, giving the 21-year-old four goals and 18 points in 17 games this season.

This coming week, they’ll face off against Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. MT.

Hunter Laing​

Hunter Laing and the Saskatoon Blades defeated the Regina Pats in two different games this past week, winning 3-2 in overtime on Saturday and 4-0 on Sunday. Laing picked up an assist in the shutout win, giving him 15 goals and 32 points in 33 games this season.

They’re back in action for two games this week, facing the Brandon Wheat Kings in a home-and-home. The first game, in Brandon, is on New Year’s Day, before they host the Wheat Kings on Saturday.

Yegor Yegorov​

Yegor Yegorov’s JHC Spartak-MAX played twice this week, falling 6-2 to Mikhailov Academy and 3-2 to JHC Dynamo-M. The Flames’ prospect didn’t play in either game, as the 20-year-old has a .923 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average in 17 games played this season.

Like Kirill Zaurbin’s Mikhailov Academy, JHC Spartak-MAX don’t play this week, returning to action on Jan. 6.

Axel Hurtig​

The Calgary Hitmen played just one game this week, falling 9-5 to the Kamloops Blazers. Flames’ prospect Axel Hurtig was held pointless in that game and was a -1, giving him three goals and eight points in 29 games this season.

They return to action on Tuesday, heading to Vancouver to face the Giants. Moreover, the Hitmen also play the Victoria Royals on New Year’s Day and the Prince George Cougars on Saturday.

Other players to play this coming week…​

Cole Reschny is part of Team Canada’s squad at the World Junior Championship, and won’t be back until after Jan. 5. Theo Stöckselius, Henry Mews and Yan Matveiko remain out with an injury, while Jakob Leander’s HV71 U20 doesn’t return until Jan. 10.

Almost all the other Flames’ prospects play this week. Cade Littler’s University of North Dakota are back in action against Mercyhurst for a two-game weekend set beginning on Friday. Ethan Wyttenbach and Quinnipiac are back in action on Jan. 2 as well, hosting Aidan Lane and Harvard on Friday, before playing Dartmouth on Saturday. Lane and Harvard play Quinnipiac on Friday, then Princeton on Saturday.

Luke Misa and Penn State will be without Gavin McKenna for their two games over the weekend against RIT, with the first matchup coming on Saturday. Eric Jamieson and Jaden Lipinski’s schools will be in action against one another, as Denver (Jamieson) hosts Maine (Lipinski) on both Jan. 2 and 3.

How the standings look​

So how do the standings shape up entering the New Year? Starting with the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, Cade Littler and Cole Reschny’s North Dakota sit first thanks to an in-conference with 25 points, followed closely by Eric Jamieson’s Denver, who have 24 points. Arizona State sits fifth with 13 points. Eight of the nine teams in the conference make the end-of-season tournament.

In the Eastern College Athletic Conference, Aidan Lane and Harvard sit third in the conference thanks to 15 points. Quinnipiac is sixth in the conference with 11 points, as all 12 teams in the conference earn a berth to the end-of-season tournament, with the first, second, third, and fourth-placed teams getting a bye.

Over in the Big Ten conference, Henry Mews’ Michigan sits second in the conference with 20 points, but Mews will be out for the season. Luke Misa’s Penn State sits tied for fourth in the conference thanks to 13 points. All seven teams in the conference make the end-of-season tournament, with the first-placed team getting a bye.

The last collegiate division to house a Flames prospect (or two) is Hockey East. Jaden Lipinski’s Maine sits fourth in the conference with 16 points, while Trevor Hoskin’s Merrimack sits eighth with 13 points. All 11 teams enter the end-of-season tournament, with the first to fifth-placed teams getting a bye to the second round.

Moving to junior hockey, the Kingston Frontenacs sit seventh in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference thanks to a 15-17-4 record and 34 points. Teams ranked 1-8 make the playoffs, and they’re seven points clear of the ninth-placed team.

In the Western Hockey League, both Hunter Laing’s Saskatoon Blades and Axel Hurtig’s Calgary Hitmen are in a playoff spot. The Blades have a 19-14-3 record with 41 points, good enough for fifth. The Hitmen are just two points behind with a 17-10-5 record, albeit with four fewer games played. Teams 1-8 make the playoffs.

Thanks to a 13-game winning streak, the Green Bay Gamblers sit first in the United States Hockey League’s Eastern Conference. Six of the eight teams in the conference make the playoffs, with the first and second-placed teams getting a bye.

In Russia, Kirill Zarubin and Mikhailov Academy sit fifth in the Western Conference’s Gold Division, while Matveiko’s Red Army sits third. That’s good, teams 1-5 get a bye, while teams 6-8 play the top three teams in the Silver Division. As it stands, Yegor Yegorov’s JHC Spartak-MAX sits seven points out of third in the Silver Division, but have played six fewer games.

As for Sweden’s U20 league, there’s two different conferences with 10 teams. The top 10 teams from the two conferences make the winners’ stages, while the other 10 teams head to the losers’ stage. Despite being in the losers stage, the six best teams in that division will earn a playoff spot, while the bottom three teams are relegated. Theo Stöckselius’ Djurgårdens IF U20 would be in the winners’ stage, while Jakob Leander’s HV71 U20 would be in the losers’ stage.

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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/flames-prospect-roundup-cullen-potter-has-started-to-get-hot

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames weekly notebook: Zayne Parekh is getting his swagger back

There was a lot of hype surrounding Zayne Parekh entering his first full season in the NHL, and for good reason. He was coming off 96 and 107 point seasons in the OHL. He joined Bobby Orr as the only two OHA/OHL defencemen to put up multiple 30+ goal seasons.

Pretty good company for Zayne Parekh pic.twitter.com/V2Pciioo64

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 27, 2025

Unfortunately, his rookie campaign has not gone the way he and the Flames had planned, and he’s lost confidence because of it.

It all started with head coach Ryan Huska making Parekh a healthy scratch in the first two games of the season.

When Parekh did get in the lineup, he looked to be physically outmatched on a lot of nights. Yes, he made some things happen in the offensive zone. But he also struggled with the pace and physicality of the NHL game. And that shouldn’t worry Flames fans. He is 19 years old. It’s going to take Parekh some time to get used to playing in the NHL.

Parekh’s season was put on pause after getting checked into the boards in an awkward position by veteran, physical forward Nick Foligno.

Nick Foligno lays a heavy hit on Zayne Parekh.

Parekh has gone to the Flames locker room.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/M82dEYQkz5

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) November 8, 2025

Luckily for Parekh, the injury wasn’t too serious and he was able to be loaned to the Canadian World Junior team.

The World Juniors have been the perfect place for Parekh to get his swagger back. He has been able to play against players his own age. He’s been trusted by Dale Hunter and been put in positions to succeed playing on the top pairing at 5-on-5 and quarterbacking the top power play unit. This is exactly what he needed after a tough start to the season in Calgary. He admitted that this season has been tough on him mentally to TSN’s Mark Masters.

Zayne Parekh on two-goal #WorldJuniors debut:

“I needed this. Mentally, It’s been a grind”

On seeing 1st goal go in:

“A weight lifted off my shoulders. It’s been a tough year. I’ve dealt with a lot. It’s a confidence builder & I know I still got it”https://t.co/MDbGiylcpR

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) December 27, 2025

Through three games, Parekh is 2nd among all defensemen in scoring with five points (3 goals, 2 assists). And he could have more points had his teammates been able to put away some of the elite passes Parekh has put on their tape in scoring positions.

Parekh has been the most dangerous player on Team Canada up to this point of the tournament. It feels like something good happens every time he touches the puck in the offensive zone. He has a special ability to make high end tape to tape passes, walk the blueline, and get his shot through traffic.

Just look at some of the plays he has made.

Zayne Parekh is showing off his play making on the PP early in the 1st period.

: TSN | IIHF pic.twitter.com/RlEtbq0wZL

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 27, 2025

Zayne Parekh makes a great cross ice pass to find an open Brady Martin.

He’s made two passes tonight that have led to incredible scoring chances for Canada.

: TSN | IIHF pic.twitter.com/dpo8fAwvAd

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 27, 2025

What a shot by Zayne Parekh! pic.twitter.com/AOiP9kL9tg

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 27, 2025

That’s 2 goals tonight for Zayne Parekh! pic.twitter.com/eUxD9mzi1O

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 27, 2025

Zayne Parekh gets the puck in an awkward position but is able to turn it into a scoring chance for Michael Misa.

It’s stuff like this that make Parekh a special player.

: TSN | IIHF pic.twitter.com/J6xSUM7LSE

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 27, 2025

Zayne Parekh scores his third goal of the World Juniors! pic.twitter.com/I09T7D0Ae0

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 30, 2025

Great pass by Zayne Parekh to find Porter Martone.

That’s 5 points in 3 games for Parekh. pic.twitter.com/gdiDKoimT7

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 30, 2025

Now comes the question about what the Flames should do with Parekh once the World Juniors come to an end. That is not an easy question to answer.

He can go back to the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL. Or the Flames can keep him up with the NHL team and sprinkle in a two week conditioning stint in the AHL at some point this season. I’ll do a deep dive into what the Flames should do with Parekh later this week.

But regardless of that decision, it’s clear the Flames organization is going to get back a highly skilled player with some reignited swagger and confidence after dominating a tournament of his peers.

Let’s take a look at a couple other Flames storylines.

Be patient​

The Calgary Flames are back in the playoff mix after getting off to their worst start in franchise history. Since Nov. 19, the Flames have the fourth-best points percentage in the NHL. You have to give the players and coaches in that dressing room credit for completely turning around their season.

There is a group of Flames fans who are worried that this group is going to finish in the mushy middle once again. Not good enough to make the playoffs. And not bad enough to get a top draft pick. Where the Flames have lived for the last 30+ years.

My message to Flames fans who are feeling this way is: be patient.

Here is how I see things playing out between now and the end of the season.

This team will be in the mix, or in a playoff spot, come the trade deadline. They will remain competitive as long as Rasmus Andersson, Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri are part of this team. Those three players and the goaltenders are keeping this team hovering around a wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

On top of that, the Flames don’t have an overly difficult schedule between now and Mar. 6.

But things are going to change after the Mar. 6 trade deadline.

Rasmus Andersson will most likely be traded. He has been the Flames best player this season. He is the heart and soul of this team right now. He touches every facet of the game for Ryan Huska. Who is going to replace those minutes when he is gone?

You would hope that Craig Conroy has the foresight to also move out a few more veterans. Say two of Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, Joel Farabee, and Joel Hanley. That would be the final nail in the coffin to the Flames playoff chances.

Their schedule is incredibly difficult following Mar. 6. There is no way this Flames team, without Rasmus Andersson and one or two of the veterans I mentioned prior, will make the playoffs with this schedule.

Yes, it is frustrating to see this team get back in the mushy middle. I am right there with you if you are feeling that way.

But I don’t think it’s going to last for the entire season. Whenever Andersson and others are moved, the playoff hopes for the Flames will be extinguished.

Ryan Lomberg​

The Lombergini has become an important member of the Flames organization. And a lot of that comes from his contributions off the ice.

Yes, he does some good things on the ice. He brings speed, physicality, toughness, and a little bit of scoring touch, as he has proved over the last few weeks.

FLAMES GOAL

WHAT A GOAL BY RYAN LOMBERG!!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/BVPAlz48Qw

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 28, 2025

But he provides the most value off the ice. His positivity, energy and leadership are needed right now for this team, especially post trade deadline following trades of veteran leaders. This team will start to lose games again at some point, and when that happens they are going to need someone to keep some positivity going.

The last thing you want to happen is for Calgary to become a miserable place to play during a rebuild. You need guys to keep things loose in the room, and Lomberg does exactly that. He doesn’t need to be in the lineup every night, but I think it’s important to keep him around this team.

I would have no issues with the Flames re-signing Lomberg to a one or two year contract.

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[Calgary Flames]

A Flame From the Past: Shean Donovan

Do you remember Shean Donovan?

Every once in a while, we take a look at a player who once played for the Calgary Flames in a series called “A Flame From the Past”. This player has to have played a significant number of games for the Flames. I’ll put every Flames’ season into a Wheel of Names, and this time, it landed on the 2005-06 season. In this article, we’ll take a look at Shean Donovan.

Born in Timmins, Ontario, but growing up in North Bay, Donovan began his junior career with the Kanata Valley Lasers of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (Junior A). In 1990-91, Donovan scored eight goals and 13 points.

Donovan began his major junior career the following season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s. In 1991-92, the right winger scored 11 goals and 19 points in 58 games. He broke out the following season, scoring 29 goals and 52 points in 66 games. That led to Donovan being drafted 28th overall in the 1993 draft by the San Jose Sharks.

He returned to junior the following season, scoring 35 goals and 84 points in 62 games, while adding 10 goals and 21 points in 17 post-season games. Donovan played in 14 National Hockey League regular season games in 1994-95, and seven post-season games.

The winger also made his American Hockey League debut that season, picking up two assists in five games, then five goals and eight points in 14 games. Most of Donovan’s 1994-95 season was spent with the 67’s, scoring 22 goals and 41 points in 29 games.

Aside from four games in the International Hockey League, most of Donovan’s 1995-96 season was spent with the Sharks, where he scored 13 goals and 21 points in 74 games. After three AHL games in 1996-97, Donovan scored nine goals and 15 points in 73 NHL games in 1996-97. Only 20 games were spent with the Sharks in 1997-98, where he scored three goals and six points, as Donovan was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.

On Nov. 20, 1997, the Avalanche traded Mike Ricci and a 1998 second to the Sharks for Donovan and a 1998 first-rounder, which was used to pick Alex Tanguay. Donovan scored five goals and 12 points in the remaining 47 games. The following season, Donovan scored seven goals and 19 points in 68 games, while also playing five post-season games.

In 1999-2000, Donovan scored a goal in 18 games with the Avalanche, before being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers midway during the season. He added four goals and 11 points over his next 33 games. The 2000-01 season was Donovan’s only full season with the Thrashers, as he scored 12 goals and 23 points in 63 games, which was a career-high at the time.

Playing 48 games with the Thrashers in 2001-02, Donovan scored six goals and 12 points before being claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins. To end the 2001-02 season, the winger scored two goals and three points in 13 games. Donovan didn’t play a full season with the Penguins, as he scored four goals and nine points in 52 games during the 2002-03 season, before being traded to the Flames.

Ending his season in Alberta, Donovan scored a goal and three points in 13 games. The 2003-04 season was a career-best year for the winger, as Donovan scored 18 goals and 42 points in 82 games, then added five goals and 10 points in 24 games as the Flames went all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

His final season with the Flames was in 2005-06, where he scored nine goals and 20 points in 80 games, but was held pointless in seven post-season games. At the conclusion of the 2006-07 season, Donovan joined the Boston Bruins, where he scored six goals and 17 points in 76 games.

Donovan played his junior career in the Nation’s Capital region, and he returned to the area to finish his NHL career. In 2007-08, he joined the Ottawa Senators, scoring five goals and 12 points in 82 games. In 2008-09, Donovan scored five goals and 10 points in 65 games, then scored two goals and five points in 30 games during the 2009-10 season, his final season in the league.

The winger has remained in the Ottawa area, serving as a development coach for the Senators for some time. Donovan also served as the 67’s Assistant coach in 2013-14, and now serves as an associate coach for the Kemptville 73’s of the Central Canada Hockey League (formerly the CJHL).

---

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

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/a-flame-from-the-past-shean-donovan

 

[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames close out 2025 with victory over Flyers

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 their annual New Year’s Eve game on Wednesday night, this year hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Facing an opponent that was playing on back-to-back nights, the Flames started slow but gradually found their footing.

A big second period offensive outburst powered the Flames to a 5-1 victory over the Flyers to close out 2025 on a winning note.

The rundown​

The opening period was pretty scrambly, with decent energy from both teams but execution being a bit off. The Flyers first shot on goal was 6:10 into the period. The Flames didn’t record their first shot until 10:17 in.

The third shot of the game was a goal, though. 13:30 into the period, the Flames got an odd-man rush off a Flyers turnover. Matt Coronato teed up a chance for Mikael Backlund, and Backlund’s one-timer from above the circles beat Sam Ersson to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Mikael Backlund scores his 10th goal of the season! This line has been incredible

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/JP4MUMVpMx

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 1, 2026

First period shots were 4-3 Flyers. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 10-8 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 3-1 Flames.

The Flames spotted themselves an insurance goal early in the second period. Morgan Frost won an offensive zone face-off and it led to (a) a bunch of traffic in front of Ersson and (b) a wrister from Jonathan Huberdeau from above the circles. With all that traffic, the seeing-eye shot found a way to beat Ersson inside the far post to give the Flames a 2-0 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Morgan Frost puts Calgary up 2-0!

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/Gd3zS3ZQRL

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 1, 2026

The Flyers seemed to cut the Flames’ lead to 2-1 on a delayed penalty midway through the second period. However, Carl Grundstrom was jostling for position around the Flames crease and made contact with Dustin Wolf prior to the shot from Nick Seeler. The Flames challenged for goaltender interference and the goal was wiped out… but that meant that Yan Kuznetsov’s penalty, which was negated by Seeler’s goal, was back on the docket. (The Flames killed off the minor.)

The Flames have a successful goalie interference challenge.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/7L1XIWjUR6

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 1, 2026

A little later, though, the Flyers cut the Flames’ lead to 2-1 for real. On a rush play, a Travis Konecny shot was mostly stopped by Wolf. The puck trickled through Wolf and dropped into the crease area. Nazem Kadri, scrambling to try to poke the puck away from danger, inadvertantly poked it through the crease and into the net off the far post. Whoops.

Philly cuts the Calgary lead in half.

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 1, 2026

But the Flames restored their multi-goal lead a little later. The Flyers took minor penalties four seconds apart, giving the Flames 1:56 of five-on-three power play time. A Rasmus Andersson slap shot beat Ersson to give the Flames a 3-1 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Rasmus Andersson scores on a 5 on 3! It's 3-1 Calgary

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/ZBcU77qnLF

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 1, 2026

Late in the second period, after Jamie Drysdale put the puck over the glass, the Flames had another power play. This one was pretty scrambly, as the Flyers went on an odd-man rush to the Flames end and Wolf made a big stop on Christian Dvorak. Play went back the other way and after a bit of an odd passing sequence that featured Coronato throwing the puck to an empty point position – nobody was there yet – the puck was retrieved by MacKenzie Weegar. A bit of passing later and Coronato found Yegor Sharangovich out front and Sharangovich picked the top corner to give the Flames a 4-1 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Yegor Sharangovich is starting to heat up! He puts Calgary up 4-1

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 1, 2026

Second period shots were 11-9 Flames. 5v5 scoring chances were 6-4 Flames and high-danger scoring chances were 3-2 Flames.

The third period was pretty back and forth. The Flames added some additional insurance, as Connor Zary got a feed from Ryan Lomberg in the slot and fired it off the post and past Ersson to give the Flames a 5-1 lead.

FLAMES GOAL

Connor Zary goes off the post and in! It's 5-1 Calgary

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/jiFXDruO53

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 1, 2026

The Flames managed their lead well and skated to a 5-1 win.

Third period shots were 12-9 Flyers.

Why the Flames won​

Neither team looked great in the opening period, but the Flames got to their game in the second period and basically imposed their style onto the remainder of the proceedings. Was this a picturesque example of our great sport? To be charitable, it was a bit of a clunky game. But the Flames did a great job of making the Flyers – the team that was on a back-to-back – work for every inch of ice, and it was enough for them to get two points.

Red Warrior​

A lot of guys wearing red jerseys had good nights, but we’ll give the nod to MacKenzie Weegar. He played a ton and had a couple key assists.

Turning point​

Let’s go with the second Flames power play goal in the second period. Immediately before that, Dustin Wolf made a stop on Christian Dvorak (shorthanded) and a sliding block attempt from Rasmus Andersson prevented the Flyers from getting a better scoring chance on that sequence. If Wolf (or Andersson) are less stingy in that situation, the game could’ve swung the other way.

This and that​

At the first TV timeout, the Flames played an in-arena tribute video commemorating Dan Vladar’s return to the Saddledome.

This was the first time the Flames scored multiple power play goals since Dec. 8 against Buffalo, and just the fourth time they’ve done it all season.

Connor Zary and Adam Klapka swapped spots mid-game; Zary went from Morgan Frost’s line to John Beecher’s line, while Klapka went in the other direction.

Via Sportsnet: the Flames have won 47 consecutive games when scoring 4 goals or more in a game.

After Burner​

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

Up next​

The Flames (18-18-4) are back in action on Saturday when they host the Nashville Predators in the early game of Hockey Night in Canada.

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-close-out-2025-with-victory-over-flyers

 

[Calgary Flames]

Looking back on the Flames’ performances in 2025

Friends, the calendar year of 2025 is now in the rear-view mirror. For the Calgary Flames, it was a year of ups and downs.

On one hand, the Flames played some of the best hockey we’ve seen them play in two chunks – an 11-2-3 run over the final 16 games of the 2024-25 season that saw them fall just short of a playoff spot, and a 16-9-2 run starting in early November that may have helped salvage their 2025-25 season.

On the other hand, the Flames missed the 2025 playoffs due to a couple of losses in St. Louis in January, and they made enough miscues early in October to get out to a 2-9-2 start. Due to a lack of game-breaking (or game-stealing) offensive talent, the Flames are a team that has really thin margins in games and thus very little wiggle room, so a few mistakes on their side can cause games to slip away.

By the numbers​

The Flames played 85 games in 2025 going 41-33-11 with 93 points and a .547 points percentage. They were 22-13-5 at home and 19-20-6 on the road. (The most games the Flames have ever played in a calendar year was 91 in 2022, which was a result of a COVID-19 outbreak in December 2021 causing some games to get postponed into the 2022 side of that season.)

Their longest winning streak was five games, covering the final four games of the 2024-25 season and the 2025-26 season-opener. Their longest losing streak was eight games (0-7-1) spanning Oct. 9-24.

Team leaders​

Two Flames played in every game in 2025: Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri.

Kadri also dominated the offensive leaderboard for the club, leading in goals (29), assists (44), points (73) even-strength goals (20), even-strength points (46), power-play goals (9, tied with Jonathan Huberdeau), power play points (27), overtime goals (2) and shots (273).

Coleman shared the lead in plus/minus with Mikael Backlund (+15). He led the team in shorthanded goals (4) and shorthanded points (5). Huberdeau led the team in game-winning goals (6), taking the lead on New Year’s Eve.

MacKenzie Weegar led the team in minutes played by a skater with 2,037:27.

As you would expect, Dustin Wolf dominated the goaltender leaderboard in 2025. He played the most games (65), logged the most minutes (3,732:53) and led the Flames in wins (31) and shutouts (3).

All-told, the Flames used three different goaltenders and 37 different skaters in 2025. Making their NHL debuts with the Flames during the calendar year were Hunter Brzustewicz, Matvei Gridin, Rory Kerins, Sam Morton, Zayne Parekh and Aydar Suniev.

Single game standouts​

The Flames had three-point performances by players in 2025, four of them by Rasmus Andersson. Five of those three-point nights were three-assist games – three by Andersson, and one apiece for Weegar and Connor Zary. No Flames played recorded a hat trick in 2025, but they had 18 two-goal performances.

Weegar played 28:56 on Mar. 1 against Florida, representing the most minutes played by a skater in a single game. Of the top 10 ice time logged by players in individual games, eight of them were by Weegar and the other two were by Andersson.

Wolf’s 42 save performance on Nov. 5 against Columbus was the single-game high by a Flames netminder.

What was the biggest Flames highlight of 2025? Let us know in the comments!

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/looking-back-on-the-flames-performances-in-2025

 

[Calgary Flames]

What’s Going On In the Pacific Division: Five teams in the division occupy a playoff spot entering the New Year

The 2025 portion of the 2025-26 season is over.

Entering the New Year, five teams in the Pacific Division occupy a playoff spot, with two teams just two points out. The Vancouver Canucks are the lone exception, as their 35 points are tied for the second-fewest in the leagues, one ahead of the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Winnipeg Jets.

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​

It wasn’t a great week for the Anaheim Ducks. On Saturday, they fell 6-1 to the Los Angeles Kings, then fell 5-4 to the San Jose Sharks. Their lone point this past week came in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Still, the Ducks have a 21-16-3 record for 45 points, tied for the second-most in the division.

This week, the Ducks will host the Minnesota Wild on Friday, their first game of 2026. They’ll then head on a four-game road trip, with their first two games coming against the Washington Capitals on Monday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

Calgary Flames​

In last week’s article the Flames were 2-1 heading into this past week, as they fell 5-1 to the Edmonton Oilers two days before Christmas. Well, they got their revenge against their provincial rivals, defeating them 3-2 on Saturday. They followed that up with a 2-1 overtime win over the Boston Bruins and a 5-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Now, the Flames sit just one point out of a playoff spot.

The Flames’ next game is on Saturday, as they host the Nashville Predators with a start time of 5:00 PM MT. They’ll then host the Seattle Kraken on Monday, before beginning a road trip, with a game against the Montréal Canadiens on Wednesday.

Edmonton Oilers​

As per usual, the Edmonton Oilers have struggled coming out of a break. They fell 3-2 to the Calgary Flames on Saturday, but managed a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. That was short-lived, as they fell 6-2 to the Boston Bruins on New Year’s Eve, giving them a 1-2-0 week.

It’s a rather uneventful week for the Flames’ provincial rivals, as they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at 1:30 PM MT, with their next game coming against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Los Angeles Kings​

The Los Angeles Kings had a rather uneventful week, playing just two games. They defeated the Anaheim Ducks 6-1 on Saturday, but fell 5-2 to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. With a 16-13-9 record, the Kings have 41 points and occupy the final wild card spot.

This week will be a busy one for the Kings as they begin a four-game home stand. On Thursday, the Kings host the Tampa Bay Lightning, followed by two matchups against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and Monday, capped off by a game against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

San Jose Sharks​

Occupying the first wild card spot are the San Jose Sharks, who are on a three-game winning streak. Last week, they defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6-3, the Anaheim Ducks 5-4, and the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in a shootout.

The shootout win marked the beginning of a three-game home stand, which continues with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. They’ll then play one game on the road, traveling south to Los Angeles to face the Kings.

Seattle Kraken​

Like the Los Angeles Kings, it was a rather uneventful week for the Seattle Kraken. After playing a back-to-back before the holiday break, they hosted the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, defeating them 4-1. In the second game of a back-to-back, a home game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Kraken fell 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks.

It’s a busy upcoming week for the Kraken, as they host the Nashville Predators on Thursday, traveling up Interstate 5 to face the Vancouver Canucks on the second game of a back-to-back (they probably fly). On Monday, they face the Calgary Flames in Alberta, before returning back home to host the Boston Bruins on the second-game of a back-to-back.

Yes, the Kraken will play four back-to-back games in a span of two weeks. Wild.

Vancouver Canucks​

Speaking of the Canucks, they played three games this past week, with the 3-2 shootout win against the Kraken being their lone win. They also lost a pair of games 6-3, one to the San Jose Sharks and the other to the Philadelphia Flyers.

This week, the Canucks host the Kraken and the Boston Bruins for a back-to-back game on Friday and Saturday, before embarking on a six-game Eastern Conference road trip. Their first matchup on that road trip is against the surging Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

Vegas Golden Knights​

It was a rough week for the Vegas Golden Knights, as they fell 6-5 to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild on Monday, and 4-2 to the Nashville Predators on New Year’s Eve. Still, they are second in the Pacific Division and have the best point percentage as they’ve played three fewer games than the Edmonton Oilers.

This week, the Golden Knights will embark on a three-game road trip, taking on the St. Louis Blues on Friday, the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, and the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

---

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]

On this day 34 years ago: Flames trade Doug Gilmour to the Maple Leafs

Today is the anniversary of one of the worst trades in the Calgary Flames’ franchise history.

On Jan. 2, 1992, the Flames traded Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Kent Manderville, Ric Nattress and Rick Wamsley to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Craig Berube, Alexander Godynyuk, Gary Leeman, Michel Petit and Jeff Reese.

Gilmour was the big piece given up by the Flames. Drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Blues in 1982, Gilmour had five productive seasons with the team from Missouri before the Flames acquired him ahead of the 1988-89 season. In 72 regular season games, Gilmour scored 26 goals and 85 points, along with 11 goals and 22 points in 22 games as the Flames went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1989.

In 1989-90 and 1990-91, Gilmour reached the 20-goal plateau both seasons, and also had 91 points in 1989-90 and 81 points in 1990-91. Before the trade, Gilmour scored 11 goals and 38 points in 38 games, and added 15 goals and 49 points in 40 games with the Leafs to end the 1991-92 season.

Gilmour was already a good player, but he hit a whole new level as a Leaf, at least in his first two seasons. The 1992-93 season saw him score 32 goals and 127 points in 83 games, along with 10 goals and 35 points in 21 playoff games. He followed that up with 27 goals and 111 points in 83 games in 1993-94, scoring six goals and 28 points in 18 post-season games.

Although he never reached those heights again, Gilmour was still a productive player for the rest of his career, hitting the double-digit goal mark in seven of his remaining nine seasons, including the 20-goal mark three times. After his Leafs’ tenure ended in 1996-97, Gilmour played for the New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Montréal Canadiens, and one game with the Leafs to end his career.

In total, the Flames traded four players from their Stanley Cup winning team in 1989. Nattress only played 36 games with the Leafs, scoring two goals and 16 points in 36 games. His final season was in 1992-93, spent with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Macoun was a productive defenceman upon his arrival to Toronto, scoring three goals and 16 points in 39 games to end the season. He hit the 30 point mark again in 1993-94, and played until after the 1998-99 season, winning the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 1998 after a mid-season trade from the Maple Leafs.

Wamsley was never more than a 1B with the Flames, but his career fizzled out after the trade, playing just eight games with the Leafs in 1991-92, and just three games in 1992-93, his final NHL action. Manderville, a prospect at the time, went on to play 646 National Hockey League games, scoring 37 goals and 104 points. Four of the 12 seasons he played were spent with the Maple Leafs, where he scored eight goals and 23 points in 136 games.

Losing Gilmour is what made this trade so bad, but did the Flames find a way to replace his production? Of course not. Berube was the big piece coming back, and he scored a goal and five points in 36 games after the trade. He played 77 games with the Flames in 1992-93, scoring four goals and 12 points in 77 games, before he was traded to the Washington Capitals.

Berube played six seasons with the Capitals, scoring 26 goals and 63 points in 397 games, before a trade to the Flyers, the team he began his career with. The current Maple Leafs coach played parts of two seasons with the Flyers, before rejoining the Capitals. His stint didn’t last long, as they traded him to the New York Islanders during the 2000-01 season. Berube finished his career as a Flame, playing the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons with the team before hanging up the skates.

So what about the other players the Flames acquired? Well, Godynyuk played 33 games with the Flames in 1991-92 and 1992-93, scoring three goals and eight points, before playing the rest of his 115 career games with the Hartford Whalers. Like Berube and Godynyuk, Leeman played just the 1991-92 and 1992-93 season with the Flames, scoring 11 goals and 23 points in 59 games. He went on to win the Cup with the Canadiens, but played just 63 more NHL games after departing the Flames.

Both Petit and Reese played three seasons with the Flames. Petit, born in St. Malo, Québec, scored eight goals and 48 points in 134 games with the Flames from 1991-92 until 1993-94. After that, he played an additional 164 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Reese, a netminder, played 39 games with the Flames, 12 following the trade, 26 in 1992-93, and one in 1993-94. Overall, he had an .883 save percentage and 3.39 goals against average in those games. He played 37 games with the Whalers, 19 with the Lightning, and three with the Devils to end his career.

In hindsight, Doug Risebrough and the Flames should’ve just paid him, as he went on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.

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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/on-this-day-34-years-ago-flames-trade-doug-gilmour-to-the-maple-leafs

 

[Calgary Flames]

Recap: Wranglers fall to three former organization players in 5-2 loss against Roadrunners

The Calgary Wranglers were fresh off a 3-2 overtime win over the Colorado Eagles and right back in action on Friday to host the Tucson Roadrunners. Calgary got on the board first but two power play goals from the visiting Utah Mammoth affiliate within a minute had them playing from behind for most of the game. The Wranglers managed to get one goal back in the third period but fell to the Roadrunners 5-2.

Lineup notes​

The Wranglers rolled with their same lineup as Thursday for this game. There was an organizational change earlier in the day, however. The team announced that Andrew Basha was assigned to the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers.



Andrew Basha played in 27 games with the Wranglers this season and put up a goal and four assists in that time. This move should be a good confidence builder for him and get him some more top minutes as he’s been a rotating third or fourth liner with Calgary.

Wranglers lines​

Dryden Hunt – Rory Kerins – William Stromgren

Carter King – Sam Morton – Martin Frk

Lucas Ciona – Clark Bishop – Parker Bell

Alex Gallant – David Silye – Carter Wilkie

Etienne Morin – Nick Cicek

Artem Grushnikov – Daniil Miromanov

Turner Ottenbreit – Jeremie Poirier

Owen Say

Game at a glance​

After picking up the overtime win on Thursday, the Wranglers went right back to Owen Say fot this game. For the Roadrunners, they started Matthew Villalta in net. Just 1:07 into the game, Scott Perunovich high-sticked Parker Bell and was called for a minor penalty. Early in this power play, the Wranglers gave up a shorthanded breakaway and Sam Morton made a great defensive play to shut it down and broke the Roadrunners skater’s stick on the play.

The Wranglers weren’t able to register any shots on the power play and play continued. The Wranglers were facing three guys formerly in the organization for this game including Kevin Rooney, Ty Tullio and Juuso Valimaki. Both Rooney and Tulio had some early looks on Say and he managed to keep the puck out.

At 7:49, the Wranglers opened the scoring with a big goal from Rory Kerins. William Stromgren helped keep the puck in the zone after an offensive zone face-off loss then passed it to Dryden Hunt, who got the puck to Rory Kerins for a back door marker. This goal tied Kerins for the longest point streak in team history with 11 games. This record is also held by Jakob Pelletier and Matthew Phillips.



Just past the midway mark of the period, David Silye was hit over by the Roadrunners bench and knocked to the ice on his back. Alex Gallant was right there to stand up for him and this play didn’t result in any calls going either way. With 3:15 to go in the period, William Stromgren was called for holding. Just 42 seconds into this penalty kill, Clark Bishop had some scrappy stuff going on in the Wranglers zone and was called for cross-checking. The Wranglers managed two shifts of penalty killers then the Roadrunners rang a shot off the post and the next shot on Say ended up in the back of the net. The goal was scored by Austin Poganski.

Stromgren came out of the box and before Bishop’s penalty could expire, the Roadrunners added another to take their first lead of the game. Cameron Hebig tapped in a puck on the doorstep and gave Tucson a 2-1 lead. At 19:46, the Roadrunners were called for a faceoff violation and Miko Matikka served the delay of game call. The Wranglers got a few seconds of power play time before it carried into the second. At the end of the first period, the Wranglers were down 2-1 and were outshot 15-9 through 20 minutes.

They started the second period with 1:47 of power play time. In the last second of the power play, Parker Bell was called for slashing and the Wranglers were back penalty killing. They killed off Bell’s call and continued on in the second. The fatigue of the week seemed to show itself in the middle frame of this game and the Wranglers were only able to put up a handful of shots. The whistles were minimal until 16:35 when Turner Ottenbreit was called for high-sticking. Owen Say stopped a big slap shot on this power play and another shot rang off the post again.

In the last 15 seconds of the period, Former Flame Juuso Valimaki scored his first goal in over a year to make it a 3-1 game for Tucson. Valimaki got the puck shortly after the offensive zone faceoff and shot it past Say’s glove side. This wrapped up the second period and the Wranglers were trailing 3-1 after 40 minutes of play. The Wranglers were outshot 19-4 in the middle frame.

Early in the third, Sam Morton was called for interference. This call came just 18 seconds into the frame. Calgary didn’t need to penalty kill for long as Ben McCartney was called for holding the stick 22 seconds later. During this four on four, Jeremie Poirier took a shot that caught William Stromgren in the back of the leg and he went back to the bench slowly in pain. Poirier was then called for hooking at 2:03, and the Wranglers were back penalty killing. Stromgren didn’t leave the bench and was out on the ice for his next shift. All the penalties were killed off and the score stood at 3-1 by the five minute mark of the period.

At the eight minute mark of the period, Owen Say went down a little too early for a save and left a corner of the net open for Miko Matikka to score on. The Roadrunners pulled ahead 4-1. A couple of minutes later, the Roadrunners nearly had another with a shot that went off the post and out. The Wranglers managed to get a goal back at 15:49, when the third line battled in the zone and Etienne Morin took a shot from the point that Lucas Ciona deflected in. Originally, they thought Clark Bishop may have scored but it ended up going to Ciona. Clark Bishop was originally credited with one of the assists but it ended up going to Etienne Morin and Parker Bell on the finalized game sheet.



Right after this goal, Rory Kerins was taken down in the corner behind the Roadrunners net. He was going for the puck and Artem Duda turned around quickly and high-sticked Kerins. This ended up being a double minor and Kerins went to the bench in some pain. Thankfully he was able to return for his next shift on the power play. Just over a minute into this Wranglers’ power play, the Roadrunners got out to a shorthanded breakaway and Ben McCartney took a shot on Say that deflected off his chest and into the back of the net. The goal came at 17:25 and put the Roadrunners up 5-2.

That pretty well wrapped up this game and the Wranglers fell to the Roadrunners 5-2. Shots finished 43-20 for Tucson. It’s been a pretty condensed schedule for the Wranglers as they are tied for total games played in the AHL. Captain Clark Bishop spoke on this post-game and said:

“We’ve had a really busy schedule here in the first half so get some rest when we can. We got a little more of a less dense schedule here coming up in January, so hopefully we can string a couple wins together with that lower schedule.”

Scoring stat summary​

Rory Kerins – 1G

William Stromgren – 1A

Dryden Hunt – 1A

Lucas Ciona – 1G

Etienne Morin – 1A

Parker Bell – 1A

Highlights​

Next up​

The Wranglers have a day between games to rest and recover for the most part. Their next game will be on Sunday to close off the weekend series against the Roadrunners. Game time goes at 1:00 p.m. MT.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/recap-...ation-players-in-5-2-loss-against-roadrunners

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames Game Day 41: Closing out the first half against Nashville (5pm MT, SNW/City)

On Saturday night at the Saddledome, two .500 teams will enter. One team will leave over .500 as they enter the second half of the 2025-26 season. The Calgary Flames (18-18-4, 40 points) and Nashville Predators (18-18-4, 40 points) have identical record through 40 games. Someone will pick up a win and be north of the .500 mark, and inch closer to a playoff spot in a very mediocre Western Conference.

Today’s broadcast begins at 5 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West, City TV and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

The Flames​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

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

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

We’re projecting Dustin Wolf to start in net, backed up by Devin Cooley. The projected extra skaters are Justin Kirkland and Brayden Pachal.

Midway through the Philadelphia game, Flames head coach Ryan Huska swapped Connor Zary and Adam Klapka, and that change seems to be carried over into this game. After New Year’s Eve’s game, Huska was asked about the swap: “I don’t think there’s enough speed on the one line and, you know, adding a little different to both lines I think benefited both lines to be honest with you.” We’ll see how things look over a full game.

The Flames have gotten themselves into a pretty decent spot after a truly awful start to the season. We’ll see if they can keep building on it.

The Predators​

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Filip Forsberg – Ryan O’Reilly – Steven Stamkos
Michael Bunting – Erik Haula – Luke Evangelista
Tyson Jost – Fedor Svechkov – Matthew Wood
Reid Schaefer – Michael McCarron – Cole Smith

Roman Josi – Nick Perbix
Brady Skjei – Adam Wilsby
Nicolas Hague – Nick Blankenburg

We’re projecting Juuse Saros to start in net, backed up by Justus Annunen. They have no healthy extras right now.

This is the sixth game of a seven game road trip for Nashville: they’ve already been to Minnesota, St. Louis, Utah, Vegas and Seattle, and they play Edmonton on Jan. 6. So far, they’re 3-2-0 on the trip. Nashville’s had a streaky year, winning a few and losing a few, but never quite getting much traction. They’re not a bad team, but they’ve just lacked consistency this season.

Unavailable players​

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

The Predators are without Jonathan Marchessault, Ozzy Wiesblatt and Justin Barron.

The numbers​

Flames	Predators
18	Wins	18
40 (.500)	Points (%)	40 (.500)
51.0% (12th)	xGF%	51.6% (8th)
14.8% (32nd)	PP%	20.3% (13th)
81.0% (13th)	PK%	81.6% (10th)

Head to head​

This is the finale of the three game season series between Calgary and Nashville. The Predators won each of the first two games.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...-first-half-against-nashville-5pm-mt-snw-city

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames slide back below .500 with uneven outing against Nashville

If you’ve watched the Calgary Flames over the past couple of seasons, you’ve probably noticed that when the Flames look a certain way, they tend to give themselves a chance. They rely on structure, pace, a tenacious forecheck and keying in on details in key moments to win hockey games.

Over the last little while, they’ve won quite a few hockey games that way. But as we’ve written here, it’s pretty tough to play the Flames’ style of game every single game. On some nights, you just don’t have enough in the tank to play that way.

On Saturday night against the Nashville Predators, the Flames just didn’t have it. The Flames had a good first few minutes and a good last few minutes, but suffered a big lull in their game in-between those good segments en route to a 4-3 home loss to the Predators.

“I don’t think it was a great game for us compared to the ones we played over the last little while,” said head coach Ryan Huska, following the game. “I only thought we had maybe five guys ever at a level that I think they should have been at. So, Nashville was much quicker than us for the majority part of the game. Yeah, not a great night.”

The Flames got goals from Yan Kuznetsov, Rasmus Andersson and Blake Coleman. The Predators got two goals from Erik Haula, and one apiece from Michael Bunting – off an errant pass from Dustin Wolf – and Nicolas Hague – with 27.8 seconds left in regulation to break a 3-3 tie.

“I didn’t think we had a great game by any means, but we gave ourselves a shot to win, at least get to overtime and see where it takes us,” said Coleman. “You can’t give up a goal with 30 seconds left in a game like that.”

With the loss, the Flames were swept in the three game season series with Nashville. Some teams just match up well against others, and the Predators have matched quite well against Calgary stylistically this season.

“We just haven’t played well,” said Coleman. “You know, we just, again, they hold the line well. We didn’t get pucks behind them. We were stubborn all night. Fuel their game a little bit. But, again, we give ourselves a chance. We get back to even and start carrying the play towards the end there. A game that, when you get to that point, there’s no reason we shouldn’t win that at home.”

The loss snapped a five game Flames home winning streak and dropped them below the .500 mark at 18-19-4. They’re hoping that the setback was merely a bump in the road as they try to work towards a playoff berth following a rough start to their season.

“We can’t let a game like this alter our course,” said Flames forward Ryan Lomberg. “We’ve got to, you know, stay the course and stay mentally strong and stay upbeat and stay positive and keep working at it.”

Sometimes you just don’t have it. On Saturday, the Flames didn’t have it. They’ll try to find it again on Monday night when they close out their five game homestand against the Seattle Kraken.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-slide-back-below-500-with-uneven-outing-against-nashville

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames forward John Beecher suspended one game for punching Michael McCarron

The Calgary Flames will be without a member of their fourth line group for at least one game. On Sunday afternoon, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced that Flames forward John Beecher has been suspended one game for an incident in the first period of Saturday night’s game where he punched Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron in the face.

Per the league’s ruling, Beecher will be unavailable for the Flames’ game on Monday at home against the Seattle Kraken. He’ll be eligible to return for the Flames’ road trip, beginning on Wednesday in Montreal, though his availability is in question due to a potential injury suffered later in Saturday’s game.

The incident took place 13:15 into the first period of Saturday’s game. After a fight between Calgary’s Ryan Lomberg and Nashville’s Cole Smith, McCarron skated past the Flames bench and chirped several players, leading to a scrum on the ice after MacKenzie Weegar whacked him with his stick. During that scrum, McCarron got into it with Beecher, throwing a few punches before he was restrained by the officials. After McCarron had been restrained, Beecher threw a punch that hit him square in the face.

Here’s the crux of Player Safety’s argument for a suspension:

“It is important to note that no matter what preceded this punch, Beecher’s actions here are neither permitted nor excusable. The altercation has died down, officials are in between the players, and McCarron’s arms are being restrained at his sides. Still, Beecher throws a forceful, bare-knuckled punch over the official and into McCarron’s face at a time where McCarron is not able to defend himself.”

Beecher fought Nashville’s Nicolas Hague after serving his penalties and suffered an upper body injury in the bout. He left the game and didn’t return. Flames head coach Ryan Huska didn’t have any additional information about Beecher’s injury status on Saturday post-game or on Sunday after practice.

With Beecher unavailable (at least for Monday’s game), the Flames are down to 12 available forwards against Seattle. We’ll see if they end up calling up someone from the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers as insurance.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...pended-one-game-for-punching-michael-mccarron

 

[Calgary Flames]

Recap: Wranglers are shut out to wrap up six games in nine days stretch

After a day between games, the Calgary Wranglers and Tucson Roadrunners were back in action on Sunday afternoon to wrap up their two game series. This game came as Calgary’s sixth game in nine days since the holiday break, and this stretch was a marathon with some difficult opponents. The Roadrunners got out to a two goal lead in the first. Tucson added another in the third period and put one in the empty net to secure the win. Calgary was shutout by a final score of 4-0.

Lineup notes​

Matvei Gridin made his return to the lineup for this game after missing the last four games with a minor upper body injury. Carter Wilkie came out of the lineup up front as a result. On the back end, Jeremie Poirier was scratched and Simon Mack came in. This altered the pairings and each blueliner ended up skating with a new partner.

Wranglers lines​

William Stromgren – Rory Kerins – Dryden Hunt

Matvei Gridin – Clark Bishop – Martin Frk

Carter King – Sam Morton – Parker Bell

Alex Gallant – David Silye – Lucas Ciona

Turner Ottenbreit – Daniil Miromanov

Nick Cicek – Artem Grushnikov

Simon Mack – Etienne Morin

Arsenii Sergeev

Game at a glance​

After giving Owen Say back to back starts, the Wranglers went with Arsenii Sergeev for this game. On the other end of the ice, the Roadrunners also switched things up in net with Jaxson Stauber getting the start. 90 seconds into the game, former Wrangler Ty Tullio took a delay of game penalty and the Wranglers got some early power play action.

After this man-advantage, the Roadrunners started to get going some more and scored the first goal of the game at 6:11. This play started with a shot from the point and the scramble in front allowed Ryan McGregor to score in front. A few minutes later, Etienne Morin was called for tripping at 10:48 and this penalty lasted all of four seconds before Cameron Hebig took a high-sticking penalty. The Roadrunners led the effort on the four on four but the score remained.

The Wranglers managed a few looks on Stauber in the second half of the period but Ty Tullio was left in front of Sergeev wide open to bury a rebound on the doorstep. Juuso Valimaki picked up one of the assists on this marker. Calgary made an effort to get things going the other way with a fury of shots towards the end of the period. Right at the buzzer to signal the end of the first, there was a scrum behind the net and out of this, Lucas Ciona was called for roughing. A call that carried into the second period. At the end of 20 minutes, the Wranglers were behind 2-0 and shots were 12-8 for the Utah Mammoth affiliate.

Calgary killed off Ciona’s penalty and ended up on a power play chance of their own when the Roadrunners were called for tripping at 4:10. The Wranglers put out five forwards for this power play and Rory Kerins and Sam Morton had the best chances on this opportunity. The high danger chances were not as prevalent for the 10 minutes following the Wranglers power play and there were a couple of instances where a shot from either side came a little after a whistle so it was drawing a crowd between the captains and again later in the period on the other end of the ice. Nothing to cause a penalty, however. Just some exchanging of words.

At 18:17, Artem Grushnikov put up a hit on Miko Matikka between the benches and it appeared to have injured Matikka. Maveric Lamoureux went after Grushnikov after this hit and it resulted in roughing minors against Lamoureux and Grushnikov. Artem Grushnikov was also called for an additional penalty for interference that Martin Frk served. At the end of the second period, the score remained 2-0 and the Wranglers were out-shot 9-6 in the middle frame.

The third period still had 17 seconds of Grushnikov’s penalty remaining, so he and Frk started the frame in the box. The Roadrunners came out shooting in the first few minutes of the third and at 3:05, Cameron Hebig took the legs out from underneath Clark Bishop and Bishop went back first into the boards. The Wranglers Captain was slow to get up and was helped off the ice by the athletic trainer. He didn’t go down the tunnel and remained on the bench. He just didn’t go out for a power play shift as Hebig was called for interference.

After the power play, Daniil Miromanov took a shot that was blocked and caused a breakaway for Owen Allard the other way that Sergeev managed to keep out. At 12:24, the Roadrunners extended their lead to 3-0 when Maveric Lamoureux took a shot that was screened pretty heavily in front. At 15:49, the Wranglers pulled Arsenii Sergeev for the extra attacker. At this point in the game, it felt more like a move to give Rory Kerins a chance to break the team record for points in 10 straight games. A point in this game would make Kerins the new record holder behind Jakob Pelletier and Matthew Phillips.

Kerins had a couple of setups for William Stromgren and Martin Frk, but they could not find the back of the net. At 17:20, the Roadrunners took the puck the other way and Sammy Walker scored on the empty net to make it 4-0. After this empty netter, the Wranglers accepted their fate and played out the remaining time. Rory Kerins wasn’t out on the ice much anymore, and he also accepted his run of points in 10 straight games also came to an end. The final score was 4-0 and shots finished 32-21 for the Roadrunners.

Highlights​

Next up​

The Wranglers’ brutal stretch has finished up and they’ll have a much lighter schedule for the rest of January. They won’t be back in game action until Saturday when they go on the road to play the Abbotsford Canucks. Their next game will be on Jan. 10 at 8:00 p.m. MT.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/recap-wranglers-are-shutout-to-wrap-up-six-game-stretch-in-nine-days

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames recall goaltender Owen Say from the AHL’s Wranglers under emergency conditions

As the Calgary Flames hit the ice for warm-up in advance of their game with the Seattle Kraken on Monday night, they announced a transaction. The club has called up goaltender Owen Say from the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers under emergency conditions. Netminder Devin Cooley is unavailable due to illness, so Say will dress as backup behind Dustin Wolf.

#Flames Roster Update: Goaltender Owen Say has been recalled from the @AHLWranglers on an emergency basis. Devin Cooley (illness) is not available for tonight’s game.

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 6, 2026

A product of London, Ontario, Say is a 24-year-old goaltender in his first year of pro with the Wranglers. He came up through Ontario minor hockey and then spent two seasons in the BCHL with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. He was named the BCHL’s top goaltender in 2021-22.

Then he moved onto college, where he spent two seasons with Mercyhurst University in the Atlantic conference before moving onto the University of Notre Dame for his junior year. He was named to the Atlantic conference’s all-rookie team in 2022-23 and was third team all-conference in 2023-24. His numbers improved every season in college, and he impressed enough that the Flames signed him to an entry-level contract at the end of the 2024-25 season.

Playing at first as backup to Ivan Prosvetov and more recently as part of a tandem with fellow collegiate product Arsenii Sergeev, Say has appeared in 18 games this season for the Wranglers. He’s posted a 6-7-5 record with a 3.33 goals against average, .891 save percentage and one shutout. He served as backup to Sergeev in Sunday’s 4-0 Wranglers loss to Tucson, so he’ll have the unique distinction of backing up in back-to-back games in the same building in two different leagues.

When we say “emergency conditions,” in this case it refers to the Flames exercising the “goaltender exception” to the 23-man roster limit to ensure that they have two healthy goaltenders available to play. With Say’s call-up, the Flames’ active roster is temporarily at 24 players – three goaltenders, seven defencemen and 14 forwards. Once Cooley is available to play again, Say will be required to be returned to the Wranglers.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames...the-ahls-wranglers-under-emergency-conditions

 

[Calgary Flames]

Beyond the Boxscore: Flames’ top players remain quiet in 5-1 loss to Kraken

The Calgary Flames struggled to beat the Seattle Kraken goaltender, only getting one goal in a 5-1 defeat at home.

CF% – 57.44%|| SCF% – 52.75%|| HDCF% – 48.66%|| xGF% – 45.77%

It’s a Team Game – It was honestly the kind of game you would expect from two teams near the bottom of the standings. Neither squad has a player that pops out as a clear difference maker on a nightly basis, so I was expecting a bit more of a close match-up. Seattle eventually had the dam break open for them – a result of getting the more dangerous chances of the groups – and after that happened, they never looked back. Calgary was able to possess the puck, get shots off, and genuinely try and stay in things. Instead, the attack came off as weak and not as dangerous as it could be. NaturalStatTrick did have them at 17 high danger chances (I’m skeptical of that), but just one of them in the third period when they needed it most. Surrendering 18 high danger looks themselves undoes all the good that gaining 17 does.

No matter how many chances there were (or were not) someone still has to actually put the puck in the net – a process that continues to hinder the Flames weekly.

Corsi King – Connor Zary (69.66 CF%) is one of these players I’m talking about. Nazem Kadri (67.35 per cent) even more so and linemate Joel Farabee (68.35%) too. Having a 2-to-1 advantage in shot attempts is great, but if the offence is too infrequent it still doesn’t qualify as working. At least Zary worked his way back into playing with some scorers for now, but it has been a hard year for them. Farabee is on a current 6 game pointless drought and has 2 goals and 3 assists total since his last multi-point outing. That’s 5 points in his last 16 games getting over 15 minutes of ice time a night. This entire top 9 is not a long term functional top 9 for a competitive NHL team and they are showcasing exactly why in real time. Where the heck is Rory Kerins, who has deserved every single breath of a possible extended opportunity? Why do you have to sit Stromgren before playing in a game? Why do you sit every callup before inserting them into a game? They’ve played hockey their whole lives, is your team structure really so complicated a professional athlete can’t pick it up? It’s becoming more and more laughable and inexcusable with each passing day. How they handle Parekh’s return might really be the last straw because at this point something big has to give and soon.

Too many passengers getting too many passes with no accountability or explanations to the people that pay for tickets and merchandise as to why it’s this much of disjointed cluster.

Under Pressure –

Taken By Chance – Look what happens when Blake Coleman (59.58 SCF% // 63.84 HDCF%) can’t score every single night. A lot of responsibility for a 34-year-old winger with a career high of 54 points to be your entire offence. Do I want the Flames to move on from Blake Coleman? Not in the slightest. Would it be smart to capitalize on what seems to be an insane bidding war for his services? Yeah, without question. The only possible reason to keep him past this deadline is because you genuinely think you can compete for the Stanley Cup this year or next. If not, you have got to move on – it’s a business and you are in 30th place out of 32. Make the right business decision. Again, you have all these self-drafted players producing in the AHL – give them a real opportunity for once. It is not like any single current player on this team is producing at a rate that makes them a guaranteed nightly lock. (Okay maybe Andersson, but we all know that pending UFA is going to be on his way soon too.)

xG Breakdown –

xGF% – Brayden Pachal (39.78 per cent) got back into the lineup. I have never disliked his game and think he fits just fine as a third pairing, penalty killing NHL defenceman. Trouble for him is the Flames have some wicked youthful right-handed defenceman coming up. Weegar (52.34 per cent) isn’t likely to go anywhere and then you’ve got Brzustewicz and Parekh already pushing the door down with Henry Mews surely on his way when he gets done at Michigan in another 2-3 years. He was a waiver claim coming into this franchise so any sort of asset coming back is a win, but I think we might see him stay as the 6th or 7th guy with Brzustewicz going back down to the AHL for a while. It won’t hurt him, he’s shown he has the stuff to stick around in the show and the Flames know that now. His call-up’s been a great success, top line AHL deployment again won’t hinder his development.

Game Flow –

Game Score –

Shot Heatmap –

In The Crease – For those that read this regularly you may recall I suggested Cooley after Wolf’s down performance in Nashville. Well, this is why. Wolf has done well after getting resets and statistically Cooley is still ranked as one of the best backups in the league. Yes, this was a pretty important in division game for positioning, so I understand why they went to their starter. It did not work and now I’m going to say it again – start the road trip with Cooley. If you want to go into the playoffs, you’ll need the tandem.

The Goals –

FLAMES GOAL

Adam Klapka opens the scoring by batting the puck out of mid air into the back of the net!

Great work by Yan Kuznetsov to get the puck back and start that rush for Calgary.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/8M4SQSGzV2

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 6, 2026

Flash’s 3 Stars –

1) Joel Hanley

2) MacKenzie Weegar

3) Adam Klapka

(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]

Flames prospect roundup: Jacob Battaglia plays his final games for the Frontenacs

A familiar face has returned to junior hockey.

This is the Dec. 30- Jan. 6 edition of the Flames prospect round-up, where we look at how Calgary 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.

We’ll take a look at the games which were played last week, what’s next for all the players, and look at the standings.

Editors’ note: This week will feature a new format, let me know which one you prefer in the comments.

College​

Of the 20 players covered in the Flames Prospect Roundup, nearly half of them play in college. Four of them play in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference: Cullen Potter (Arizona), Eric Jamieson (Denver), Cade Littler (North Dakota) and Cole Reschny (North Dakota).

Starting with North Dakota, they were in action against Mercyhurst for two games this past weekend, winning 2-0 and 6-1. Littler picked up an assist in their shutout win, while Reschny was busy winning the bronze medal in the 2026 World Juniors. This season, Littler has four goals and nine points in 18 games, while Reschny has two goals and 18 points in 16 games. North Dakota is back in action this week against Colorado College, playing two away games at the school.

Also in NCHC action, Potter and the Arizona Sun Devils won both games they played in, defeating Alaska Anchorage 7-2 and Air Force 5-2 to win the Desert Hockey Classic. Potter scored a hat trick in their 7-2 win (with an assist), then picked up a goal and an assist in their 5-2 victory. Potter now has 12 goals and 25 points in 22 games, surpassing his 22 points in 35 games last season. The Sun Devils play two games against Miami (Ohio) at home this weekend.

Cullen. Potter.

He ties it for @SunDevilHockey with his 4th goal of the tournament and 10th in 9 games

: https://t.co/ZyUdpPaF0J#theNational // #BeTheTradition pic.twitter.com/Pbj84zKSXF

— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) January 4, 2026

The last NCHC play in action this past week was Jamieson with Denver. They played two games against Jaden Lipinski’s Maine, falling 5-2 and 4-3 in a shootout. Jamieson was held pointless, giving him six goals and 13 points in 21 games this season. Denver hosts Western Michigan for two games in NCHC action this weekend.

Maine won both games they played against Denver, but Lipinski was held pointless. The 21-year-old right-shot centre has three goals and eight points in 19 games this season. This week, they’ll play two in-conference match-ups, both against Providence in Hockey East action.

The other Flames’ prospect in Hockey East is Trevor Hoskin, who plays for Merrimack. They beat Brown to extend their winning streak to four games, as Hoskin picked up an assist to give him four goals and 19 points in 18 games this season. Merrimack plays one game this week, a matchup against Holy Cross on Saturday.

There are two Flames’ prospects in ECAC Hockey, Quinnipiac’s Ethan Wyttenbach and Harvard’s Aidan Lane. Starting with the former, Quinnipiac defeated Harvard 9-1, then beat Dartmouth. Wyttenbach scored twice in their win over Harvard, giving him 11 goals and 27 points in 20 games this season. Quinnipiac faces Union on Friday and RPI on Saturday, both are in-conference games.

Vidi with a great back pass and Wytter cashes in on the empty net to tie the game!#BobcatNation x #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/C1A8D4x3B7

— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) January 3, 2026

As for Lane, he was held pointless in Harvard’s 9-1 loss to Quinnipiac, as well as their 5-3 loss against Princeton. Through 13 games this season, the Flames’ sixth-rounder in 2025 has five goals and an assist. This week, Harvard played Dartmouth on Friday and Boston University on Monday.

Lastly, there are two Flames prospects in the Big East Conference, but Michigan’s Henry Mews is out for the season. That leaves Penn State’s Luke Misa, who fell 1-0 to RIT, but won the second game against them by a score of 7-3. Misa was held pointless in both games, giving him two goals and four points in 18 games this season.

So how do the standings shake up? North Dakota sits first in the NCHC with 25 points, while Denver isn’t far behind with 24 points. Arizona State ranks fifth with 13 points. Eight of the nine teams in the conference make it to the playoffs in a 1-8 format.

In Hockey East, Hoskin’s Merrimack sits eighth in the conference with 13 games played in 11 games, while Maine is fourth with 16 points in 11 games played. The three teams between Merrimack and Maine have eight or nine games played. All 11 teams in the conference make the playoffs, with the first through fifth teams earning a bye.

Quinnipiac currency sits fourth in the ECHC standings, but it’s a log jam at the top of the standings as Princeton, the leaders, have just 19 points. Harvard is two points behind Quinnipiac for fifth in the conference. All 12 teams make the end-of-season tournament, with teams one through four earning a bye in the first round.

Michigan sits second in the Big 10 conference, but Mews is out for the season. Penn State currently sits fifth in the conference with 13 points, just two behind Michigan State for third. All seven teams play in the end-of-season tournament, with the first-placed team getting a bye.

Junior​

There are two big news stories relating to Flames prospects playing in junior hockey. First off, Jacob Battaglia was traded from the middling Kingston Frontenacs to the Flint Firebirds, one of the best teams in the Ontario Hockey League.

The other piece of notable news is that Andrew Basha was sent down from the American Hockey League, re-joining the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers as they look to win their second consecutive Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Starting with Battaglia, the Frontenacs played three games with the Frontenacs, it doesn’t really matter how they did. Battaglia scored twice and picked up two assists in the three games. The Firebirds were 2-1 this week without Battaglia, and will take on the Sarnia Sting on Wednesday, the Saginaw Spirit on Friday, and the Frontenacs on Saturday, you can’t make this up. Battaglia has 14 goals and 27 points in 36 games this season.

We have acquired eight future OHL Priority Selections from the Flint Firebirds in exchange for Jacob Battaglia.

DETAILS | https://t.co/M3w69Bsp9c pic.twitter.com/tOAjGmiilg

— Kingston Frontenacs (@KingstonFronts) January 5, 2026

Basha’s Tigers played three games this week, smashing the Red Deer Rebels 8-0, before defeating the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-3 and 5-1. Basha played in the latter two games, scoring a goal in the 6-3 win and picking up an assist in their 5-1 win. The Tigers host the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday and the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday.

WELCOME BACK ANDREW BASHA!!! @NHLFlames | #Flames pic.twitter.com/feQumX867J

— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) January 3, 2026

The two other junior players in the Western Hockey League are Calgary Hitmen’s Axel Hurtig and Saskatoon Blades’ Hunter Laing. Starting with the Hitmen, they fell 4-3 to the Victoria Royals in a shootout, but defeated the Prince George Cougars 4-2. Hurtig was held pointless and was a -2 in their win, giving him three goals and eight points in 32 games. The Hitmen also host the Thunderbirds (Saturday) and the Hurricanes (Sunday).

Laing and the Blades won both games they played against the Brandon Wheat Kings, winning the away game 3-2 and the home game 5-1. Laing scored in their 3-2 win, and then scored twice and picked up an assist in their 5-1 win to give him 17 goals and 35 points in 35 games this season.

The Blades respond on the power play!

Hunter Laing buries it in front to tie the game for the @BladesHockey.@NHLFlames | #Flames pic.twitter.com/L5iptJJm5m

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) January 1, 2026

In United States Hockey League action, the Green Bay Gamblers’ extended their winning streak to 14 games with a 5-4 win over the Madison Capitols, but were finally beaten by the Des Moines Buccaneers on Jan. 3. They got their win back the following day, beating them 2-1. Flames’ prospect Mace’o Phillips was held pointless in two of those games, giving him a goal and three points in 21 games this season. The Gamblers play two games this week, both against the Fargo Force over the weekend. Phillips won’t take part, though, as he’s serving a three game suspension related to a late fight in the Jan. 3 game with Des Moines.

As for the standings in junior, the Firebirds currently sit third in the OHL’s Western Conference. They have the same number of points as the Windsor Spitfires, but with an additional game played. The second-placed team, the Kitchener Rangers, have 50 points, but are the leaders in their division. Teams 1-8 in each conference make the post-season.

The 1-8 format is the same for the WHL. All three Flames’ prospects in the WHL play in the Eastern Conference. Basha joins a Tigers team who sit first in the conference with a 27-6-5 record, one of three teams in the conference who have a realistic chance of finishing first.

That doesn’t mean that the Hitmen or the Blades are slouches either, as the Blades have 45 points and the Hitmen have 44 points (with three fewer games played). They’re in a battle for fourth place, which would give them home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

As for the USHL, the Green Bay Gamblers sit first in the Eastern Conference with 49 points, two ahead of the Youngstown Phantoms. Six of the eight teams in the conference earn a playoff berth, with the top two teams earning a bye.

Overseas​

Finally, we have overseas action, which includes Sweden (Theo Stöckselius, Jakob Leander) and Russia (Yan Matveiko, Kirill Zarubin, Yegor Yegorov). Both Stöckselius and Matveiko are out with injuries, Stöckselius for a while and Mateviko since Dec. 6.

Additionally, Leander’s HV71 U20 doesn’t return to action until Jan. 10 against Rögle BK U20. They play the Malmö Redhawks U20 the following day. That leaves the two Russian netminders, Zarubin and Yegorov, who both played on Jan. 6.

Starting with Zarubin, he allowed three goals on 10 shots in Mikhailov Academy’s 6-3 loss to SKA-1946. This season, he has a .931 save percentage and 2.02 goals against average in 27 games. Mikhailov Academy play SKA-1946 again on Thursday, as well as JHC Dynamo SPB.

Yegorov played Jan. 6’s game for JHC Spartak-MAX, falling 4-3 to AKM-Yunior. He stopped 31 of 35 shots for an .886 save percentage and 4.04 goals against average, giving him a .921 save percentage and 2.97 goals against average this season. They’ll play Krasnaya Armiya on Friday, which happens to be Matveiko’s team.

So do the playoffs work overseas? Starting with Sweden, the top 10 teams from the two conferences make it to the winners’ stage, while the other 10 play in the losers’ stage. Of the 10 teams in the losers’ stage, six make the playoffs and are seeded 11-16. Djurgårdens IF U20, the team Stöckselius plays for, is fourth in their conference and have a two-point lead over the sixth-placed team, while Leander’s HV71 U20 sit second last in their division.

Russia’s standings system is arguably more confusing. There are two divisions in two conferences, the Gold Division and the Silver Division. The top five teams in the Gold Division get a bye, while the sixth, seventh, and eighth-placed teams face the top three teams of the Silver Division. As it stands, Matveiko’s Krasnaya Armiya sit third in the Gold Division, Zarubin’s Mikhailov Academy sit sixth, and Yegorov’s JHC Sparktak-MAX sit fourth in the Silver Division, all in the Eastern Conference.

Fun, right?

---

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 roster news: Zayne Parekh has rejoined the team following World Juniors

On Monday, Calgary Flames defender Zayne Parekh captured a bronze medal at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He also set a Canadian record for most points by a defenceman in a single World Junior tournament, missing the overall blueliner points record by a single point. He also was named to the tournament’s media all-star team.

Later on Monday, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reported that Parekh would be rejoining the Flames during their road trip.

On Tuesday, just as Francis had said would happen, Parekh was officially recalled back to the Flames – he’s meeting the team in Montreal ahead of their first game of the trip against the Canadiens.

The 19-year-old Parekh was a first-round pick of the Flames in the 2024 NHL Draft, taken ninth overall. He’s put together a heck of a resume as an under-20 competitor. In addition to his bronze medal and Canadian World Junior single tournament blueliner points record, he tied the Canadian single tournament record for goals by a blueliner, too. On the club level, he’s won a Memorial Cup with the Saginaw Spirit, had back-to-back 33-goal seasons and a 100-point season, both incredibly rare feats by a defender in Canadian major junior hockey.

After debuting in the final game of the 2024-25 season – and scoring a goal – Parekh joined the Flames full-time this fall. He hasn’t been amazing, posting just one point in 11 games before suffering an upper body injury off a hit from Chicago’s Nick Foligno in early November. That said, the entire Flames team looked out of sorts for the first five weeks of the season, so we’re not prepared to make sweeping declarations about Parekh’s NHL readiness quite yet.

Simply put: Parekh is an exceptional offensive blueliner at the junior level, essentially a hockey unicorn. And there’s no standard playbook on how to integrate a player like Parekh into the NHL as a 19-year-old because he’s such a unicorn. It’ll take some time, and some growing pains, for Parekh to fully integrate himself at the NHL level.

After all the moves on Tuesday, here’s how the Flames roster looks:

• Goaltenders (2): Dustin Wolf & Devin Cooley
• Defencemen (8): Kevin Bahl, Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar, Yan Kuznetsov, Brayden Pachal, Joel Hanley, Hunter Brzustewicz and Zayne Parekh
• Forwards (13): Connor Zary, Nazem Kadri, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Jonathan Huberdeau, Yegor Sharangovich, Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, Matt Coronato, Ryan Lomberg, Justin Kirkland, Adam Klapka and William Stromgren
• Injury Reserve List (4): John Beecher, Sam Honzek, Jake Bean and Martin Pospisil

The Flames have over $17 million in cap space available to them. The Flames have zero open roster spots at present, but Brzustewicz and Stromgren are both waiver exempt and can be assigned to the Wranglers without going through waivers if the Flames need to open a spot.

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[Calgary Flames]

Instant Reaction: Flames stunned by speedy Habs in road trip opener

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 entered Wednesday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre looking to improve upon their league-worst road record. It didn’t go as they had hoped, as a fleet-footed Canadiens team ran circles around the Flames for much of the three periods of action.

The Flames were chasing for much of the contest en route to a 4-1 loss to the Habs to open up a five game eastern road trip.

The rundown​

The Flames were on their heels for much of the first period, as Montreal used their speed to attack in the offensive zone – both with the puck and on the forecheck. As a result, the Flames didn’t have the puck a lot and were defending a lot. Dustin Wolf was busy.

First period shots were 14-7 Canadiens. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 11-5 Canadiens and high-danger scoring chances were 4-2 Canadiens.

Montreal opened the scoring 3:10 into the second period. A couple passes in the Flames zone got the puck onto Alexandre Texier’s stick as he straddled the goal line. Rather than pass the puck back to Alexandre Carrier, he slightly pivoted and picked the top corner on Wolf, short-side, to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead. (Texier had way too much time and space to operate, as it seemed like the Flames got crossed up regarding who was supposed to be checking who in their own zone.)

Montreal takes a 1-0 lead. Alex Texier gets the goal.

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 8, 2026

The Flames got a power play, as William Stromgren drew a hooking minor. The Flames didn’t score on that man advantage. After the penalty ended, Montreal got a couple chances the other way as several tired Flames were stuck on the ice defending after the power play. The initial Montreal chance was stopped, but they won the puck battles and Phillip Danault fed Lane Hutson for a one-timer in the slot that beat Wolf to make it a 2-0 Canadiens lead. (The power play skaters were tuckered out and Montreal used their speed well to open up gaps.)

Montreal scores after killing off a brutal Flames power play.

It's 2-0 Habs

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 8, 2026

Off a neutral zone face-off, Nazem Kadri got the puck inside his own zone. But as Juraj Slafkovsky pursued him Kadri lost his footing – the Flames felt it was a trip, the Canadiens did not – and Slafkofsky recovered the puck and fired it on net. Wolf made the initial save but Oliver Kapanen deposited the rebound into the Flames net to make it 3-0 Canadiens. (The Flames were a bit caught up ice on this sequence defensively and after Kadri was toppled, there wasn’t really much opportunity to defend.)

3-0 Canadiens.

This is looking like the October version of the Flames.

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 8, 2026

With 2:21 left in the second period, Joel Farabee got the Flames on the board. He sniped a shot from just inside the offensive blueline that seemed to fool Jacob Fowler – perhaps he was having trouble tracking it due to the distance or a possible screen from one of his defenders – and that cut the home side’s lead to 3-1.

FLAMES GOAL

Joel Farabee, the only dangerous Flame tonight, gets Calgary on the board.

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/5008KQB8RO

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 8, 2026

Second period shots were 14-9 Flames. 5v5 scoring chances were 6-4 Canadiens and high-danger scoring chances were 3-1 Canadiens.

Montreal scored again 3:56 into the third period. Once again, it was a rush goal. This time, the Flames seemed to bunch up trying to defend the initial zone entry, and Texier threw a nice pass across the zone to a wide-open Cole Caufield. With plenty of time and space, Caufield picked the top corner, short-side, on Wolf to give the Canadiens a 4-1 lead.

What a shot by Cole Caufield. It's 4-1 Habs.

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

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 8, 2026

Kadri scored off the rush with 4:30 left in regulation, beating Fowler just inside the far post, but the play was challenged by the Canadiens and ruled off-side, which kept the Habs’ lead at 4-1.

Montreal held on for the 4-1 win.

Third period shots were 12-8 Canadiens.

Why the Flames lost​

The Flames are at their best when they can establish their forecheck, roll their lines, and impose their pace onto the game. The Flames tend to work well when the pace is moderate. They’re not a slow team, but they have a cadence to their game when they’re playing well. In this game, Montreal played fast, moved fast, and generally looked fast. The Flames really struggled with Montreal’s speed, as it made it a challenge for them to execute breakouts, do much to gain their own speed in the neutral zone, or generate much offensively.

The Flames are not a terribly slow team, but Montreal made them look positively glacial with their speedy skating and puck movement.

Red Warrior​

Joel Farabee had a ton of energy and scored the lone goal, so we’ll give him the nod.

Turning point​

During a span of 5:02 early in the second period, the Canadiens scored three goals on five shots. That turned a game where the Flames were being out-played but hanging in there defensively to one where they were chasing.

This and that​

William Stromgren made his NHL debut, playing on the fourth line alongside Ryan Lomberg and Morgan Frost. He drew a pair of penalties and was minus-1 in 8:04 of ice time.

Hunter Brzustewicz recorded a secondary assist on Joel Farabee’s second period goal, which represents Brzustewicz’s first NHL point.

After Burner​

Join Cami Kepke and myself right after the game for After Burner!

Up next​

The Flames (18-21-4) are headed to Beantown. They’ll face the Boston Bruins on Thursday night in the second half of this back-to-back set.

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-stunned-by-speedy-habs-in-road-trip-opener