Another night at the Saddledome, another one-goal finish for the Calgary Flames - and another glimpse of why Zayne Parekh keeps looking like the real thing.
The Flames outlasted the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime on Sunday, clawing back to tie the game three different times before Matt Coronato finished it off. The result pushed Calgary to 8-9-1 overall and 8-4-1 since that rough 0-5-0 start.
Parekh was right in the middle of it again. He scored his second goal of the season by weaving through a cluster of Flyers defenders and snapping a quick shot past former Flame Daniel Vladař.
Since the Flames’ 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 18, Calgary is 7-3-1, and Parekh has piled up two goals and seven points over those 11 games.
The young right-shot defenceman keeps flashing the kind of skill that jumps off the ice. The release is there, but so is the vision.
At times, he sees a play before his teammates do, even when an extra pass leaves a wide-open look on the table. The phrase “superstar potential” fits because the game already seems to slow down for him.
Yan Kuznetsov has been a big part of that rise. The two barely shared the ice in the Flames’ first six games, logging just 5:07 together.
Over the last 11 games, they’ve skated 120 minutes together and posted a 53.58 expected goal share at five-on-five. Kuznetsov added an assist Sunday, and even with sheltered usage, he’s starting to look like an underrated piece of this roster.
Calgary also got its first goal from Zach Whitecloud, another right-shot defenceman. Aydar Suniev and Yegor Sharangovich picked up the assists, and Suniev’s work on the forecheck helped set up Parekh’s goal as well. Sharangovich finished with two helpers on the night.
Joel Farabee also came through in a big spot. He entered the game 0-for-7 on breakaway chances, but that changed about 8:30 into the third period when Martin Pospíšil sent him in alone and Farabee buried it against his former team. That goal gave him a team-leading seven goals and 17 points.
Farabee’s tally forced overtime, and this one didn’t turn into the usual three-on-three drift. Both teams had chances before Coronato beat Vladař on a three-on-one for the winner. It was Coronato’s fourth goal and 15th point in 18 games, with Matvei Gridin and Šimon Nemec collecting the assists.
Devin Cooley was back in net for the first time since his injury on Oct. 28 against the Edmonton Oilers. He stopped 32 of 35 shots for a .914 save percentage and finished with 0.25 Goals Saved Above Expected, according to Hockey Stats.
There wasn’t much to pick apart in a game the Flames managed to win, though the middle frame was rough. Philadelphia controlled 70.81 percent of the expected goal share in the second period and outshot Calgary 16-7. The Flames answered with a strong third, owning 70.4 percent of the expected goal share over the final 20 minutes of regulation.
A couple of the Flyers’ goals came with help from Calgary mistakes. Cooley gave up a rebound on the third goal, while Parekh’s blown tire led to the opening three-on-one and the first goal of the game.
He also took the penalty that led to Philadelphia’s third goal. Even so, both players were better than those moments.
The bigger blow came before puck drop. Kevin Bahl will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, a major loss for a team that already leans on him as its best left-shot defenceman. It’s a tough hit for a blue line that doesn’t have a ton of depth on that side.
The last two games before Sunday were also worth noting. Calgary dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Seattle Kraken in a low-event game, with Dustin Wolf standing out most in that one.
Then came a 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, a game the Flames led 3-1 entering the second period. Parekh had two assists in that one and could have had more if he had shot more often.
William Strömgren scored his second goal in as many games, and Joel Hanley got on the board in his first game since Oct. 3.
There was also the matter of the jerseys. The logo texture does look like a waffle, and yes, “waffle jerseys” feels like the name now. Still, the Flames got their Hometown Remix look right, and the gold works.
For now, Calgary is still stuck trying to get over the .500 hump. They’ll get another shot on Wednesday when they host the New York Rangers at 6:30 p.m. ABT.
In Other News...
Devin Cooley Is Giving Flames Fans A New Subplot To Watch
Devin Cooley has found himself with an unexpected little spotlight beyond the Flames crease, and its creating a fresh subplot for Calgary fans to follow. After his motivational comments about the unique pressures goalies face started making the rounds, the Calgary netminder saw the reaction extend well past his own locker room, with Pittsburgh rookie Sergei Murashov publicly thanking him for the perspective.
Cooley said he appreciated the shoutout and noted that the response has not stopped there, with other goalies also reaching out since the remarks went viral. He has backed up the attention with solid play this season, and now there is at least a chance the story gets another chapter if he and Murashov cross paths when the Flames and Penguins meet again. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Suddenly Have A Blue Line Decision They Can't Rush
Kevin Bahls injury has left the Flames staring at a blue-line problem they did not want to be dealing with this early, and it is one that cant be solved by simply forcing a move. The loss of a defenseman for the season after Achilles surgery changes the conversation in a hurry, especially for a Calgary team that still has to think carefully about how it wants to build out its back end rather than just react to the first available option.
Craig Conroy now has to weigh whether the answer comes from a young defenseman already in the system or from a short-term addition that actually fits the timeline. The temptation to patch the hole is obvious, but the Flames do not sound inclined to make a trade just for the sake of filling space, which leaves the next step on defense very much unresolved as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Blue Line Loss Leaves Craig Conroy Facing A Tough Choice
Kevin Bahls absence has left the Flames with a hole on the blue line that is hard to ignore, and it has put Craig Conroy in a spot every general manager knows well: address the need now, or trust the group already in the room. Bahl had become a meaningful part of Calgarys defensive mix, so losing him for the rest of the season changes the shape of the back end and forces the club to weigh its options with a little more urgency than it would have liked.
What makes this decision tricky is the kind of move Calgary is likely to consider. The market does not always hand out clean fixes, and the Flames have to think about more than just plugging a gap for a few weeks. A young defender or a shorter-term addition could make more sense than a pure rental, but whichever direction Conroy chooses, the loss of Bahl has turned a manageable situation into one that now demands a careful answer. [Read more 🡒]