The Calgary Flames have defined a few notable characteristics in their time under head coach Ryan Huska.
The group is now 1-7-2 against the St. Louis Blues since Huska took over the bench.
They’re bad against the Blues is one of those traits.
Another trait? Bad at matinees. Their third period collapse to the Blues on Thursday is easier to handle when you factor in that their home opener was more of a two-for. They only have to play St. Louis twice more and they get an early game out of the way.
Almost this entire month is the Flames playing teams that they tend to struggle against. Vegas twice, Winnipeg twice–they cap off the month playing Toronto and Ottawa, who went 4-0-0 against Calgary last season.
Getting all of the hard stuff out of the way might light a fire in this team of which we have never seen the likes of.
That, or they’ll be six games under .500 and never recover. Take your pick.
A few notes.
Notes & Thoughts
1.) Nazem Kadri going to the box for hooking after catching a high stick from Pavel Buchnevich in the third really highlighted some strange reffing of late.
Not ready to get out the tin foil hat just yet. Officiating the highest level is no walk in the park. Naz has unfortunately lost the benefit of the doubt after over a decade of stirring it up in transition plays like that.
2.) Dustin Wolf looks phenomenal—but there is simply no way he keeps up this workload. The Flames are reportedly pursuing a backup despite passing on Ville Husso, Micheal DiPietro, and a few other solid netminders on the waiver wire as the season approached.
3.) Feaux pas to point it out, but Zayne Parekh doesn’t look like he’s playing at 100%. Whether that’s physical, mental, or both is anyone’s guess.
4.) Joel Hanley is a fine defenceman in his own right, but we’re going to see this team turn the page when MacKenzie Weegar moves over to the left side and Parekh moves up to the first unit.
5.) Hanley is one of a few veterans who are sprinkling in the odd stinker of a shift.
You have to wonder what this team looks like if every player started camp with the same level of consideration for a spot. Some of these gaffes would have a Jake Bean or Hanley sent down less than an hour after the final buzzer if one-way contracts and time spent playing in the NHL weren’t a factor.
6.) My Dunning-Kruger Effect is showing, but how vast is the gap between “growing pains” and “shaking off the rust”?
7.) All three of Vegas’ games have gone to overtime. They’ve won only one of them. Huska’s Flames also love dragging the game into overtime. We’ll see how it shakes out.
8.) Adin Hill is 1-1-1 against the Flames on Saddledome ice. Not great, right?
Well, he has a .944 save percentage and a 1.95 goals against average in those three games, so it’s more likely that he’s due for a win or two. The Calgary native brings it when he’s in town. We’ll see if it’s him or Akira Schmid (1-0-0, .913 Sv% against Calgary) in net.
9.) Pavel Dorofeyev, 24, has five goals in three games so far including a hat trick against LA. He only has two goals and an assist in eight games against Calgary over his career. The six-foot-one Russian scored 35 goals in his first full NHL season last year. Another guy that might be due for a big game against the Flames.
Calgary Flames Projected Lineup
Based on Monday’s practice lines.
Gridin-Kadri-Coronato
Farabee-Frost-Sharangovich
Honzek-Backlund-Coleman
Lomberg-Zary-Klapka
Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Miromanov
Hanley-Parekh
Bean-Pachal
Wolf
Cooley
Vegas Golden Knights Projected Lineup
Last game’s lineup courtesy of Hannah Kirkell.
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Mitch Marner
Brandon Saad — Tomáš Hertl — Pavel Dorofeyev
Reilly Smith — William Karlsson — Mark Stone
Brett Howden — Colton Sissons — Keegan Kolesar
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin — Zach Whitecloud
Jeremy Lauzon — Kaedan Korczak
Akira Schmid / Adin Hill
The puck drops at around 6:05 P.M. MST. Stats courtesy of the National Hockey League.
KEEP READING:
Neufeld: 7 Bold Predictions Heading into the New Season
9 Reasons the Calgary Flames Struggled Last Season
Remarkable Turnaround: How the Flames PK went from 30th to 1st
Five Former Flames Head Coaches: Where are they now?
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Thanks Trevor!
Great write up. The Flames are looking pretty pedestrian here the first three games.
Go Flames!!
It’s been a rough watch so far. They have an easy November schedule. Will be fun to see if they even out by December.