'On The Same Page'

As the Flames trade their skates and sticks for cards at Tuesday’s Flames Ambassador’s Celebrity Poker Tournament, the team can point to its work while short-handed as their ace in the hole.

Simply put, the PK has been cooking, and especially since the team returned from its holiday break in late December.

Assistant Coach Trent Cull has taken the penalty-kill as part of his portfolio since joining the club from the AHL’s Wranglers midway through last season. And over that time, he’s helped implement a system that - no matter who is on the ice - has led to an impressive run of form.

Calgary’s PK is top of the crop in the NHL in the month of January, clicking at a rate of 96.3%. The only goal the Flames have surrendered while short-handed this month came on a Columbus two-man advantage Jan. 13.

Cull pointed to that sense of cohesion as his penalty-kill’s strong suit, especially given the team’s recent personnel changes, both due to injuries and that trade with the Golden Knights just over a week ago.

“It's probably the strength of the group that's killing because we've lost Coles (Blake Coleman, sidelined since Jan. 8), who's a regular killer. We've lost (John) Beecher. He was a regular killer. Obviously some differences with Ras (Rasmus Andersson) and Whitey (Zach Whitecloud) coming right in, but he's picked it right up and doing a great job.

“I would just say the strength of the group might be the main thing.”

“As a unit, as the four guys that have gone out there, I think we're just on the same page,” forward Joel Farabee agreed. “Even if there are breakdowns, we bail each other out, and I thought we've been producing some offence, too, on the penalty kill.

“I think right now just the PK, everyone feels good. We know our reads, before each game with our pre-scout, like, you know, where we want to pressure and things like that. So I think it's just all about being on the same page. I think when you have that, like I said, even when there are breakdowns, we're in good spots.”

That offensive potential has been there all season, too. Farabee has three short-handed goals in 2025-26, part of the team’s seven while a man down - another stat that Calgary holds a share of the League lead in.

When the PK is producing at the same rate that it’s surrendering - the Flames’ net penalty-kill is at 100% in January - it’s a sign of a confident group, especially one that’s accrued the 11th most penalty minutes in the NHL over that span.

“The guys that have been doing it have been through the lean times at the start of the year,” said Cull. “The first 15, 20 games, we weren't very good. And then we kind of got ourselves right back on track, and we've done a really good job.

“I think it makes it easier for any new faces coming in, because the other guys know they're on the same page, and it makes it easy to add a new part.”

“I think we have a lot of guys that have played penalty kill (previously) in their career, or, you know, different parts of their hockey journey,” Farabee added. “I think it's just kind of been a ‘next man up’ kind of mentality.

“I think Culler’s done an awesome job with the meetings and just giving us the right information, and then, you know, when we go on the ice, whoever's up, just goes out and plays and knows their role and knows exactly what to do.”

In seeking those short-handed chances, though, Farabee and his colleagues are well-aware that different opponents present different opportunities.

And according to the winger, that’s where Cull’s pre-scout instructions really come into play.

“I think there's some teams that have some skill guys that play a little bit looser, so, you know, if you get a turnover, you might have a chance,” he explained. “There's other teams that are really, you know, smart on their powerplays, so you know, you're probably not going to be able to take too many risks.

“It’s one of those things, whatever the game gives you, you kind of roll with it.”

As for what has helped his team’s short-handed specialists get better and better as the season rolls on, Cull points to the cohesion, as well as the fact the group really only started working together once the regular season got underway in October.

But once they found their feet, Calgary’s PK has definitely found its groove.

“You never have the main group of guys doing it together really in preseason. Never happens,” said Cull. “So when you're doing something new, you can make it look good in practice, but until you get out there, when the kind of the real bullets start flying and real competition happens, when you're doing something new, it takes a little bit of time and it certainly did.

“I’m happy with where it is now.”