Matvei Gridin wasted no time taking over Monday night, scoring twice to push the Calgary Flames to their fourth straight win, a 5-2 result over the Toronto Maple Leafs that also completed a perfect homestand.
Calgary is now 5-6-0 after back-to-back goals from Gridin and Mikael Backlund turned the game in the first period. Joel Farabee and Martin Pospisil later sealed it with empty-net goals, while Farabee added an assist and Matt Coronato chipped in two helpers. Both players stretched their point streaks to five games.
Devin Cooley kept the Flames steady in net with 26 saves in his fourth straight start, improving to 4-2-0. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for Toronto and dropped to 3-4-2.
The Leafs, who had been riding a four-game winning streak, got goals from Easton Cowan and William Nylander.
Gridin set the tone at 10:05 of the opening period, scoring from a sharp angle off the left wing and beating Bobrovsky short side. Less than two minutes later, Backlund made it 2-0 for Calgary.
Then, just 25 seconds into the second period, Gridin struck again on the power play, wiring another shot to the top corner - this time over Bobrovsky’s other shoulder - for what stood as the winner. The 20-year-old now has four goals, all coming over the last four games, to lead the club.
Backlund was back in the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body issue.
Toronto had a brief scare when RW Kirill Marchenko exited early in the second period with a lower-body injury after going into the boards awkwardly following a hit from Yegor Sharangovich. Auston Matthews collected an assist on Nylander’s goal for his 800th NHL point, making him the fastest player in Leafs history to reach the mark.
Calgary’s win also snapped a long drought against Toronto. The Flames had not beaten the Leafs since Feb. 10, 2022, and Toronto had taken the last eight meetings, its longest active winning streak against any opponent.
The Leafs head to Seattle on Wednesday, while the Flames travel to Edmonton the same night.
In Other News...
Flames Game Takes A Turn After Leafs Winger Goes Down
A routine-looking matchup between the Flames and Maple Leafs took an uneasy turn in the second period when Kirill Marchenko went down after an awkward sequence along the boards. Marchenko exited in discomfort after a hit by Yegor Sharangovich sent him into the boards, adding a jolt of concern to a game that had already settled into its normal rhythm.
For Calgary, the moment became one of those bencheside reminders of how quickly a game can change. Marchenko had been on the ice for 7:05 before leaving, and the lower-body injury left the Leafs to adjust on the fly while the Flames continued trying to keep their composure around a play that suddenly carried more weight than the score. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Rivalry Loss Came With A Bigger Concern Calgary Will Notice
The Oilers night in Detroit was frustrating enough on the scoreboard, but the bigger worry for Calgary fans watching their biggest rival was the health of Zach Hyman. Edmonton kept finding ways to push in front, only to see the Red Wings answer each time before eventually taking it in a shootout, a result that left the Oilers with a loss despite doing enough in stretches to control play.
What will linger beyond the points lost is the hit Hyman absorbed late in the game, a collision that sent him out of action and kept him from returning. In a rivalry that always carries extra weight in Alberta, any injury to a top Edmonton forward gets noticed fast, especially when it comes in a game where the Oilers already let one slip away. [Read more 🡒]
Flames May Be Finding A New Role That Fits Martin Pospisil
Martin Pospisil has been carving out a different kind of job for the Flames lately, and it has given Calgary a little more lineup flexibility in the process. The Slovak winger has been used heavily on the penalty kill and has also logged a prolonged stretch at centre, a role he spent the summer and training camp preparing for. Head coach Ryan Huska gave him a real runway there, and Pospisil has looked comfortable enough to keep the experiment going.
The offensive contribution has been part of the appeal, too, with Pospisil showing he can still help drive play while handling more responsibility down the middle. There was also a brief altercation in the Toronto game, a reminder that his edge remains part of the package, but the bigger takeaway for the Flames is how smoothly he has taken to the new assignment. If this continues, Calgary may be finding a fit that gives Pospisil a clearer path to regular minutes and a more defined place in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]