'Practice What You Preach'

TORONTO - The Flames found the elusive goalscoring they had been chasing early on in this campaign on Sunday.

They put up a season-high five goals in a victory over the visiting Rangers to get back in the win column.

And none was prettier than Blake Coleman’s shorthanded tally in the third period – the fourth goal of the game – off a 2-on-1 rush with longtime linemate Mikael Backlund.

The captain made an incredibly unselfish - and extraordinary - return pass to Coleman for his first of two on the night.

If you haven’t seen it, or just want another look at this dandy, see below:

It was Coleman’s 19^th shorty of his career, and one that he said, with a broad smile, he’s watched a few times since.

“You get an odd man rush short-handed, you want to try to take advantage,” he explained. “And I think there's a still frame photo of Backs on the back door with the puck on his stick and the entire net empty and (he) still gives it back to me.

“So, yeah, great play, obviously, by him, and, ultimately, they only count as one, but it's nice to have a few on the highlight reel.”

Of the 155 regular-season goals he’s scored, that one is certainly a standout.

“Yeah, definitely up there,” agreed Coleman. “You know, just one of those things … you don't want guys losing creativity and to stop making plays because you're trying so hard to score. And I think you've just got to remind yourself that the pucks will fall. You just got to keep doing what you're doing.”

Coleman leads the Flames in scoring so far with five goals and has three goals and four points in his last two outings, pacing the team’s offensive uptick.

“Just playing my game and trying to get more pucks to the net, and get to the net myself a little more and I just think we're playing a little bit better hockey, and pucks are starting to go (in),” he said.

Backlund scored on a setup from Coleman the game prior, and has four points in his last two outings as the pair of veterans, among others, have led by example.

“Well, it's one of those things where you want to practice what you preach,” explained Coleman. “And you know, we've been talking about just staying with it and bearing down on chances. So, nice to get rewarded. And you know, some other guys are starting to fill the net, too.

“So just need to find that consistency in scoring goals, but not sacrificing what makes us a good team.”

Tonight the Flames will aim to win a second straight when they start this four-game road trip against the Maple Leafs in Toronto in an early 4 p.m. MT start, again looking to the team’s veterans to set the tone.

“It’s where it's going to come from,” said Coleman. “The leaders on the team got to step up and be better players and be producers. And so if me and Backs can score and keep the puck out of our net at the same time, it's going to give us a good chance to win on most nights.

“And, obviously, Naz is starting to find his touch and guys like that. So, you know, typically, you want your leaders to get the ball rolling and then the rest of the team tends to follow, and I expect a lot of guys to start contributing.”