Final Stop: Nashville - Flames Look to Close Road Trip on a High Note
After 11 days, five cities, and thousands of miles logged, the Calgary Flames touched down in Nashville on Monday afternoon for the final leg of their extended road trip. It’s been a coast-to-coast grind, and now, in the heart of Music City, the Flames are hoping to end their tour on a winning note.
Their most recent outing-a 1-0 overtime loss in Carolina-was a defensive slugfest that could’ve gone either way. Tight-checking, low-event hockey ruled the night in Raleigh, and while the result didn’t fall Calgary’s way, the effort was hard to fault.
The Flames blocked 25 shots and held a typically high-volume Hurricanes offense to just over half of its season average in shots on goal. That’s the kind of defensive discipline that travels well, even if the scoreboard didn’t cooperate this time.
“I don't think there were too many chances either way,” said forward Matt Coronato on Monday. “And when they did have some, Cools (Devin Cooley) made some big-time saves.
So I think we played a hard game. We had a few chances, just look to capitalize moving forward.”
Coronato was at the center of a couple of those chances himself, including a prime opportunity late in the second period. After taking a stretch pass from MacKenzie Weegar, Coronato found himself in all alone, only to ring a shot off the post behind Carolina netminder Brandon Bussi. A few inches to the left, and we’re talking about a gutsy road win instead of a narrow overtime loss.
Still, the Flames have banked five of a possible eight points on this road swing so far-a solid return given the travel and the caliber of opponents. And there’s a sense within the locker room that they’re embracing the grind and finding their identity in these tight, hard-fought games.
“I think we're a team that can be effective on the road, play hard road games and battle, kind of in low scoring games like we saw last night,” Coronato said. “I think we're kind of proud to play with that effort and play in those types of games.
Moving forward, we got one more game on this trip. I think if we could come out of there with a win, it'd be a great finish to this trip.”
Coronato, a native of New York, is one of three Empire State products on the roster. The newest member of that group, forward John Beecher, is quickly settling into life with the Flames after being claimed off waivers from the Bruins in mid-November. His introduction to Calgary hockey has been anything but slow-his debut came in Buffalo, just a stone’s throw from home, and after only a brief stop in Alberta, he was swept up in the team’s long road trek.
“It’s been quite a whirlwind,” Beecher said. “But being on the road, it’s honestly nice. You get to go to a couple more dinners with the guys and hang out a little bit more, so, I mean, it was nice for me, from the standpoint of just kind of getting to know the guys a little bit better.”
That off-ice bonding is starting to show up in his on-ice contributions. Beecher has carved out a role on Calgary’s penalty kill, where he’s already logged over 11 minutes of short-handed ice time-good for third among Flames forwards since his arrival. That accounts for more than a third of his total minutes, a clear sign the coaching staff is trusting him in key defensive situations.
“Definitely getting a lot more comfortable now, just getting the systems down,” Beecher said. “It’s kind of just starting to become muscle memory for me, which is nice; (I’m) not out there just thinking about everything. You can kind of just go out there and play.”
That’s exactly what the Flames will be looking to do in Nashville-go out there, play their game, and bring this road trip home with a performance that matches the effort they’ve shown throughout. One more win would turn a solid swing into a successful one, and with the way this group has been battling, don’t be surprised if they find a way to finish strong.