Remember the old song?
“Can’t touch a Flame when it’s Red Hot!”
That’s the vibe around Calgary’s power play right now, and the numbers back it up. The Flames are scoring at a 32% clip to open the season, with six goals on their last 12 chances. If you’re sitting in the penalty box against Calgary lately, you’re not getting much peace.
That was on full display in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Red Wings. Calgary got two power plays and cashed in on both, with Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin doing the damage. The whole thing took just 40 seconds of power-play time, a quick and ruthless dismantling of Detroit’s penalty kill.
Dave Lowry, who’s running the power play this season as Associate Coach, has seen the payoff from a group that’s buying into the same idea: keep moving, keep adapting, and don’t get locked into one spot.
“I think the biggest thing is their willingness to be creative, and their the acceptance of the flexibility,” Lowry said Monday morning after Calgary’s two units went through morning skate. “And not being married to one spot has been a big piece of it, and sometimes that takes time.
“If you look throughout the league and you watch powerplays that are successful some of them are built around an (Alexander) Ovechkin, built around a (Steven) Stamkos, guys that have one-timers. If you don't have the personnel, you have to find other ways, and our guys understand that if we move, if we work together as five, then you get opportunities.”
That five-man idea has become the backbone of Calgary’s success. The Flames enter tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs with the league’s No. 4 power-play unit, and every player on the top unit has already scored at least once with the man advantage through the first 10 games.
Parekh has been a key driver of that surge. His goal in the second period Saturday held up as the winner, and through his young NHL career, two-thirds of his 20 goals have come on the power play. Still, he’s stressing the collective more than the individual.
“If you look at the guys we have on the powerplay, there’s not a guy that’s going to kind of take over,” said Parekh. “We’re all moving pucks in unison and whoever scores, we’re happy for them.
“I think that’s what we’re doing really well, just moving pucks around and finding the open guy.“
Lowry likes what he’s seeing not just in the results, but in the process. He pointed to a group that’s comfortable enough to try things, but still understanding that mistakes will happen along the way.
“They're comfortable. And, you know, with being comfortable comes the confidence and the ability to try things,” Lowry added. “We understand that there are going to be growing pains, there are going to be mistakes, but the one thing that we're encouraging is to make plays.
“We want to be a shot volume team. Well, let's look at the percentage of the chance of getting a shot through, and I think we're getting better with that in our decision making. With these guys, the big thing is their willingness to want to get better, they're all students of the game.”
The style of power play Calgary is building now looks a lot different from the old-school version built around a cannon from the point, the kind of blast Al MacInnis used to unleash. This group is leaning on motion instead - pucks moving side to side, players sliding high and low, and defenders constantly having to sort out a new look.
The test gets tougher tonight. Toronto brings the league’s top-ranked penalty kill into the matchup, and heading into Monday’s game, the Maple Leafs had allowed only two goals against in 42 short-handed situations.
Lowry knows what that means: Calgary has to keep the pressure on with pace, support, and movement if it wants to keep this run going.
“If you look at the kills that are successful, and the kills right now that are at the top of the league, they're all based on pressure,” Lowry said. “And the one way that you have to be pressured is, you have to work together. You have to have close support.
“You have to move the puck, you have to move your feet, and if you can break it down with an attack mindset, then you will get looks, and you will get opportunities.”
In Other News...
Oilers Rivalry Loss Came With A Bigger Concern Calgary Will Notice
The Oilers left Detroit with a frustrating result, but the bigger worry for Calgary watchers was how the night unraveled around Zach Hyman. Edmonton spent much of the game on the front foot, outshooting the Red Wings in stretches and carrying the kind of pace that usually leads to better results, only for the scoreboard to keep slipping away each time it looked like the Oilers had control.
Hymans night ended after a heavy collision along the boards, and he did not return. In a rivalry that always seems to carry extra weight for the Flames, any concern about a top Edmonton forward matters, especially when it comes on a night when the Oilers had already let a lead get away more than once and still came up empty in the shootout. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Game Takes A Turn After Leafs Winger Goes Down
An otherwise routine night against Toronto took a concerning turn when Kirill Marchenko went down in the second period after an awkward fall into the boards. The play came after a hit from Yegor Sharangovich, and Marchenko skated off in discomfort before leaving the game altogether.
For the Flames, the sequence was a reminder of how quickly a physical matchup can shift the tone of a game. Marchenko had already been on the ice for 7:05 before exiting, and the Leafs were left to sort out their lineup with another forward suddenly unavailable. [Read more 🡒]
Thomas Chabot Could Change Everything For Ottawa's Blue Line
Calgarys latest game ended with more than a few nervous moments, and the injury ripple went beyond the scoreline. There was a hard collision that sent one opponent out with a lower-body issue, while Flames forward Aydar Suniev also left after an apparent head injury in a separate scrum with Easton Cowan, reminders of how quickly a night can turn complicated in the NHL.
For Calgary, the bigger takeaway on the outside looking in is that the Senators may be getting an important piece back on the blue line. Ottawa captain Thomas Chabot has returned to full practice and could be in line to rejoin the lineup on an upcoming road trip, a welcome development for a team that has leaned on its defense to stabilize the season and would clearly benefit from more of his presence. [Read more 🡒]