'Believe In My Power'

With all apologies to the now-renamed Philly concert venue, it might be time to start calling the Scotiabank Saddledome the Electric Factory.

With Andrei Kuzmenko’s ear-to-ear grin on the marquee.

The Russian winger has brought fans out of their seats on more than one occasion since landing in Calgary at the end of January and over the past three games, he's produced a pair of platinum jaw-droppers that have only left viewers thirsting for more.

It’s a sign Kuzmenko is settling in; he now has more goals as a Flame this season (nine), than he did in 43 games as a Canuck in the first half of the 2023-24 campaign.

“I’m feeling a little better from the start in Calgary,” he said after practice Wednesday. “Every day is better, I want to help this team.”

He’s found a home, too, on a line with Nazem Kadri and Martin Pospisil - the trio combined for six points against Anaheim Tuesday night, with Kuzmenko lighting the lamp twice.

The first goal saw him cut back across the grain from left to right across the offensive zone, outwitting Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal before coolly sliding the puck home.

His second, a centring pass from Pospisil that caromed off his skate as he was standing in front of the net.

Ever the humorist, Kuzmenko made it clear Wednesday which of the two tallies he preferred.

“The second!” he exclaimed. “Because I stay, I don’t move, Pospy shoot on my skates.

“I like these goals, because I don’t have to move!”

But amid the laughter, there’s a growing sense of confidence.

Flames head coach Ryan Huska has see the energy - and engagement - manifest itself recently.

“When he’s got the puck in the offensive zone, you can see the cutbacks, you can see how he can make plays and go to the net, and he’s very strong on his skates, so that’s what makes him a good player for us,” Huska said Wednesday morning. “Over the last three games, points aside, he’s been around the puck a lot. He seems to have a little bit of chemistry with Marty and Naz, so we’d like to see that continue.

“You always want every one of your players to have some improvements away from the puck, he’s no different so that’s an area he’ll keep working on, but we do like what we’re seeing with regards to how he’s playing with the puck in the offensive zone.”

The Flames bench boss is keen to see Kuzmenko continue his net presence, too.

All four of the 28-year-old’s goals over the past week have come from the environs of the crease - a trend Huska noticed when watching Kuzmenko play with the Canucks.

“A lot of his goals (in Vancouver), especially on the powerplay, were the tap-in type goals where he’s off a post,” Huska noted. “That’s where he goes a lot, and we feel like that’s where he’s at his very best; below the tops of the circles in the offensive zone, when he gets a step on someone, we want him to go to the net.

“He knows where to score goals, so he goes there.”

Speaking of Vancouver, Kuzmenko is honest to a fault about how things ended there.

After a 39-goal season in 2022-23, he was limited to just eight tallies in 43 games before the January trade to the Flames.

But he’s chalking it all up as a learning experience.

“After this season, I have a lot of discussions about what happened at the start of the season,” he said. “I like that it was a bad start, because after a bad start, I understand what I need (to) play better, to go to other level.”

And as a Flame, he might be well on his way.

Take his pace over his first 21 games as a Flame, and you’ve got yourself a 35-goal scorer.

But most importantly, Kuzmenko’s got the self-confidence to keep things trending in the right direction.

“I believe in my power,” he said.

“I believe (in) myself, every game is better.”