When you talk about the Flames, the conversation usually starts up front. That’s where the flash lives, where the goals go in, where the highlights pile up. But the organization has clearly spent the last few years building from the back end, and that shows up in the draft board: over the last three years, Calgary has owned two top-ten picks, and both were defencemen.
So with that in mind, here’s a look at the current defensive pairings as of 10 November, ranked by how they’ve performed in five-on-five play.
The most balanced of the bunch right now is Kuznetsov-Parekh. In 121 minutes together at five-on-five, the Flames have scored three goals and allowed five with that duo on the ice.
That works out to one goal for every 40 minutes and 20 seconds, while the goals against come at a rate of one every 20 minutes and 12 seconds. For a pairing that includes two players who are still nowhere near their primes, that defensive number stands out as especially solid.
Middleton-Whitecloud has logged the most time together, and the veteran feel of that pair shows in the numbers. Over 149 minutes at five-on-five, the Flames have scored six goals with them on the ice, or roughly one every 24 minutes and 50 seconds.
At the other end, they’ve given up nine, which comes out to a goal against every 16 minutes and 55 seconds. That lands them in the middle of the pack offensively and defensively among these three combinations.
Then there’s Hanley-Nemec, the newest pairing of the group and the one with the most concerning early results. They’ve only been on the ice together for 38 minutes, so the sample is small, but the numbers haven’t helped their case.
The Flames have scored just once with them out there, which means one goal every 38 minutes. Defensively, it’s been tougher: three goals against in those same 38 minutes, or one every 12 minutes and 40 seconds.
That is the highest rate of goals allowed among the three pairings, and the lowest goals-for production as well.
Of course, none of this exists in a vacuum. Some of these minutes have come with the Flames’ number one goaltender behind them, and some with Dustin Wolf in net.
The opposition has also varied from shift to shift. That kind of context matters.
Still, the averages tell a story, and that’s why they matter.
In Other News...
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Joel Hanley has moved into a bigger role as the Flames sort through the fallout, while Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Honzek were both on the ice for practice as they continue working back from injuries. Huberdeaus return still does not have a set timeline, which leaves Calgary balancing the immediate challenge on defense with the longer process of getting more of its lineup healthy. [Read more 🡒]
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Goaltending has been part of that uncertainty, with the Wranglers carrying three netminders lately, and the forward group may not be settled either after a recent injury situation added another layer to the decision-making. Calgary also made a minor-league swap in the ECHL, sending Kent Anderson out and bringing Tyson Feist in, a reminder that the organization is still shuffling pieces while the road trip and the lineup questions both keep building. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Suddenly Have A Roster Crunch Young Players Cant Ignore
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Now the challenge is starting to shift from surviving the absences to figuring out what happens when everyone is healthy again. A roster that looked flexible a week ago can suddenly feel crowded, and the Flames will have some uncomfortable decisions to make about who stays in the mix and who heads back to the AHL once the injured forwards are ready to return. [Read more 🡒]