Matt Coronato didn’t need much space to finish this one off.
The Calgary forward buried the overtime winner with 52 seconds left in the extra frame, lifting the Flames to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. Calgary had to work through a back-and-forth night to get there, but Coronato’s goal capped a three-on-one rush and sent the Flames home with the two points.
The win also came with a strong night from Devin Cooley, who was back in net for his first game after missing five with a lower-body injury. He turned aside 32 shots to earn the victory.
Calgary got goals from Zane Parekh, Zach Whitecloud and Joel Farabee, who scored while short-handed. Yegor Sharangovich set up two of them with assists.
For Philadelphia, Denver Barkey, Noel Acciari and Owen Tippett all found the net, while Sean Couturier picked up two assists. Dan Vladar made 22 saves in the loss.
The game kept swinging from one side to the other. Parekh opened the scoring at 15:26 of the first period, slipping past Trevor Zegras and Tippet at the top of the zone before firing the puck into the top corner. Philadelphia answered at 12:46 when Barkey scored on a rebound after Parekh collided with Couturier in the neutral zone and the Flyers turned it into a three-on-one.
The Flyers then grabbed the lead early in the second. At 2:16, Acciari redirected a Nick Seeler shot from the slot past a screened Cooley. Calgary responded at 5:59 when Whitecloud threaded a shot through traffic for his first goal as a Flame.
Tippett put Philadelphia back in front at 15:07 of the second period, corralling a rebound in the slot, spinning and beating Cooley on the power play while Parekh was in the box for hooking.
Calgary’s answer came midway through the third. Farabee broke free and scored short-handed on a breakaway to tie the game again, setting the stage for overtime.
There was also a notable day off the ice for Calgary, which announced earlier Sunday that top defenceman Kevin Bahl is out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon and will require surgery.
Still, the Flames found enough offense to keep their streak alive. Calgary has now won 62 straight games when scoring four or more goals, a run that trails only the New York Rangers, who won 65 in a row from 2011 to 2014.
Parekh’s goal was his seventh career tally, moving him into fifth all-time among Flames defencemen aged 20 or under, behind Dion Phaneuf (19), Paul Reinhart (17), Derek Morris (16) and Al MacInnis (12).
The Flyers had a few milestones of their own. Couturier’s two-assist night pushed him to 367 career assists, moving him past Rob Brind’Amour for eighth on the Flyers’ all-time list.
It was also his 54th career multi-assist game, tying John LeClair for 14th all-time. Barkey’s goal was his second, and he now has three points in his last three games.
Jamie Drysdale assisted on that goal, giving him six assists in four games since Nov. 1.
Farabee’s goal also extended a home trend for Calgary, as he scored in a sixth consecutive home game.
The Flyers head to Vancouver on Monday, while the Flames return home to face the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
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 🡒]