1. Seeking The Sweep
Three home dates.
Three wins.
And tonight, the Flames get a shot at making it four out of four, when they wrap up their longest home stretch of the young season against the Maple Leafs. GET TICKETS
Saturday's 4-1 win over Detroit was emblematic of the uniforms that Calgary wore. Their workmanlike effort - getting contributions from up and down the lineup - was a mirror image of the type of games that 2004 squad played on their improbable, unforgettable run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Consider this. On a night where Joel Farabee had three points, the powerplay went 2-2, and Devin Cooley turned aside 28 of 29 shots, it was fourth-line winger Adam Klapka who earned the team's hard hat and safety vest inside the dressing room after the game.
Klapka had an assist on the Flames' opening goal, and deftly pickpocketed a pair of Red Wings in neutral territory, leading to Calgary scoring chances, but his impact on the game was a perfect example that throughout the 20 players dressing each evening, everyone has their chance to step up.
Head Coach Ryan Huska said as much post-game, alluding to the emergence of Jonathan Castagna as a big reason for his confidence in maxing out ice-time for everyone.
"We’re gonna play four lines," Huska said. "It’s easier to say that now when you see the way George (Castagna) has impacted the team. He’s done a lot of good things in his minutes, and his line’s minutes are way up there and I think it allows us to be more of a four-line team.
"When everybody’s contributing, they feel a sense of value, that they’re helping the team win. And as a coach, that’s what you want to have in the dressing room."
Consider, too, the Flames have been without the services of captain Mikael Backlund for the past two games. Those face-off duties now fall to the likes of Morgan Frost, Ben Jones and Castagna, while everyone including the club's leading scorer, Joel Farabee, has to pick up the slack on a penalty-kill unit that's near impregnable on home ice.
"When Joel first came over, it took him a little while to find his footing," Huska explained. "But you can almost say every game, every week, every month, his game got better.
"I think he’s relishing the opportunity that he’s gotten here, and I think we’re seeing maybe the best that Joel’s played."
Then there's the kids.
Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin both lit the lamp Saturday. Gridin in particular, had arguably his strongest outing of the campaign against the Red Wings with two points, as his trio with Martin Pospisil and Ryan Strome were flying in their retro reds.
But as good as the offensive wealth-sharing has been of late, so too has the full-on defensive commitment by the group. Calgary has surrendered only four goals through the first three games of this homestand - all at even strength - and that might just be the sweetest tune to Huska's ears, ahead of another challenge against a hot Toronto squad this evening.
"Maybe the best thing for us over these last couple games is we’ve kept the stars off the scoreboard," said Huska. "Like both nights. Against Minnesota, that could be arguably one of the best lines in the league right now, and then again, (Detroit) has two really good lines, guys that can score.
"We were able to keep them off the sheet as well."
