Don’t mess with Texas.
Blake Coleman’s new goal song says it all.
And yes, Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ stands up as a banger - he referred to it a season ago as ‘a staple in all of the clubs, back in the day’ - but Coleman’s cellies on Thursday, set to the booming bass of BigXthaPlug hit hard, too.
Even if the switch wasn’t entirely his decision.
“It happens to come on the locker-room speakers a lot and the training staff was loving it,” he explained Saturday morning. “In Dallas, it was kind of our song that we played when we were down there, and then somehow, it kinda became my song in the locker-room.
“I think there was a hard push from the medical staff to get the change done.”
The next step: convincing his two daughters that change is a good thing.
Coleman explained neither were in attendance for his two-goal performance Thursday, so they haven’t gotten to hear the new beats in action.
“My daughters were a little upset, they love the Katy Perry,” he said with a chuckle. “They still call that ‘Daddy’s goal song.’”
Fun aside, Coleman would love nothing more than to hear ‘Texas’ a couple more times this evening, as he and the Flames host the Golden Knights at the Scotiabank Saddledome. GET TICKETS
Coleman’s line - with Mikael Backlund and Joel Farabee - excelled in all the fancy stats in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Ducks (according to Natural Stat Trick). The trio outchanced Anaheim 18-4 at 5-on-5 two nights ago, though Coleman admits tonight’s matchup presents a new challenge.
“Different opponent, it’s going to be a little more of a heavy, physical game, but it doesn’t change what we do,” he said. “We were good at getting pucks behind, a lot of speed through the neutral zone; our bread ’n’ butter is turning pucks over on the forecheck and getting to work.
“We were challenged by the coaching staff before the game to pull the team into it. For us, it’s just play the same game, play hard, bring people into the fight, and go from there.”
Over the course of his career, Coleman’s developed a penchant for upping his game at just the right time.
This evening’s showdown with Vegas would certainly qualify, and Head Coach Ryan Huska was cautiously optimistic Saturday that he’d be getting Coleman’s best come puck drop.
“He had some jump in his step again today on the ice, I thought too,” Huska said in his morning availability. “Even older players, they realize that putting up points isn’t the be all and end all, but it does make you feel better.
“If you’re generating, you get a little bit of swagger in your step, so I’m sure he’s going to have some jump in his game tonight.”
And in addition to offensive production, Coleman and the Flames might have a bit extra pep in their step Saturday thanks to an unlikely source: the New York Islanders.
Big shout out to them boys, to borrow a line from BigXthaPlug.
Their 3-1 win Friday over the Minnesota Wild kept the Flames within five points of that coveted second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
A bit of a boost, and for Coleman and his teammates, tonight brings another chance to tighten that gap.
“You want to have control of your own destiny and I guess - depending on how you look at it - we do, if we win out,” he said. “It’s a better feeling when you’ve got a hand on the wheel.
“It doesn’t change what we would do - our approach would be the same, the way we play would be the same - at the end of the day, we’ve just got to go out, win one game at a time, and go from there.”
