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Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato hit NHL milestones in Hurricanes win

Paige Siewert — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 21:45:57 GMT

Upsetting the reigning Stanley Cup Champions is for sure a game to remember, but what if it was also on a milestone night? For two Flames forwards, that was exactly the case. Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost both hit career milestone games for Coronato’s 200th NHL game and Frost’s 400th NHL game.

Both recorded points in this game on top of the impressive win and their presence was felt through the majority of the game.

What’s better than one milestone? Two milestones 🙂‍↕️ pic.twitter.com/jiA4XbXHMg

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 19, 2026

Morgan Frost

Frost hit 400 games in this match-up, with 122 of those games played wearing a Flaming C. Prior to that, he played for his draft team, the Philadelphia Flyers, before being traded with Joel Farabee in late January of 2025 for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier and a pair of picks. Frost has been in the league for eight years and has racked up 195 points in his NHL career. Two of which were in this game. He sits at 78 goals and 117 assists after this game and picked up a goal and an assist in this win.

At 19:39 in the second period, Frost earned the Flames their first lead of the game with a tip-in off Zayne Parekh’s pass.

ZP19 with the 🔥 pass and Frosty finishes it off! pic.twitter.com/d9OI2wCqAA

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 19, 2026

His second point of the game came at 15:32 in the third period with a primary assist on Yegor Sharangovich’s game winning goal.

PLAY THE JAWS THEME! pic.twitter.com/GGHhs3B8Jv

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 19, 2026

A couple more highlights he can add to his memory bank in a game that held meaning in more ways than one. In addition to these points, Frost also had an 80% win rate in face-offs in this game.

Matt Coronato

For Coronato, he’s been a product of the Flames’ system since he was drafted in 2021. The Harvard alumnus has represented Team USA on multiple occasions, including the World Cup just last summer. He started his pro career with some split time in the AHL with the Calgary Wranglers and in the NHL but by his Sophomore season, he was a graduated NHL player.

In Coronato’s five years in the NHL, he has put up 47 goals and 59 assists for a total of 106 points and he led the team in points last season. Coronato also picked up a point in this game with the primary assist on Matvei Gridin’s goal at 18:30 into the first period.

Kid can shoot it. pic.twitter.com/GnXrpRDbo9

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 19, 2026

In his post-game media availability, Head coach Ryan Huska had some good things to say about these players and the effort the team put behind them in this game. He said:

“I think his face-offs too tonight I think were a really important thing for us. Usually like you want the team to respond for the players when they have a big night and I think for the most part, they did tonight. To me that’s the mark of a good group. When they want to have success for guys when they have nights that the players will always remember. Like 400 is a lot of games. 200’s a lot of games. So we’re all happy for them and I’m glad the guys played hard for them tonight.”

The Flames beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 at home on Sunday in just their second win of the season. This win snapped a seven game winning streak for Carolina and gave the Flames a morale boost going into the next few days of practice and into their next game against the Minnesota Wild.

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Wranglers forward Ben Jones just might be the Flames’ first man up

Paige Siewert — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 20:00:09 GMT

Ben Jones may have been a name you heard a few years ago in the Calgary Wranglers’ first two seasons in the league. A name that was synonymous with scoring and clutch plays when the team needed it most. After going and coming back from the Minnesota Wild organization, Jones has proved once again, that his name and play is something worth recognizing. The way he’s started off this season, he has to be in a very serious conversation about legitimately spending time with the Flames this year.

Jones’ start

Ben Jones got on the board right from the first game of the season and scored his first goal in his second era with the Wranglers in their home match-up against the Bakersfield Condors on Oct 9. Since that goal, he’s scored in every game since. Three of which, have been multi-point games and two of which, are two goal games. In Calgary’s three games last week, he scored four goals and an assist, which would’ve earned him consideration for player of the week had there not been others in the league slightly outscoring him. Ben Jones was also the first player to score a shorthanded goal for the Wranglers this season.

Who other than Ben Jones? He sneaks this one five hole for his seventh goal of the season pic.twitter.com/gT6782uE7t

— Paige Siewert (@thathockeygirly) October 18, 2026

Seven games in, Jones has seven goals, two assists, three power play goals and one shorthanded goal. The thing with Ben Jones, has been his speed and shot placement. He also has a leg up on newcomers to the team having played the Flames system before and still having a few teammates kicking around at the AHL and NHL level.

History with Wranglers

In Jones’ first year with the team, he was in his third pro season for the Wranglers’ inaugural season in 2022-23. That year, he played in nearly every game with Calgary, just missing one all year. He finished third in points on the team with 54 in 71 games. This was broken down by 17 goals and 37 assists. He was only outscored by Connor Zary, who had 58 points and Matthew Phillips, who had 76 points. Jones would’ve liked to do more in their nine game playoff run, only putting up two points in nine games, but his regular season was quite impressive.

That first season in Calgary was a career year for Jones and still stands as such to date. The following season, his production was more evenly split but did drop by nine points overall. He was able to play in all 72 games and put up 21 goals and 22 assists for a total of 43 points. He was second in team scoring through the regular season only under Adam Klapka, who had 46 points.

Last two seasons in the NHL

From the Wranglers, (the first time) Ben Jones was picked up by the Minnesota Wild organization on a two-year, two-way contract on day one of free agency in 2024. He had already played his first games in the league in the 2021-22 season with the Vegas Golden Knights but in the 2024-25 season and 2025-26 season, he was able to spend much more time in the show. Both seasons were pretty split with him playing 26 games in 2024-25 with the Minnesota Wild and 49 games with the Iowa Wild. He didn’t put up any points in the NHL in this season but had 36 points in his 49 games in the AHL.

Last season, he played in 28 games with Minnesota and captained the Iowa Wild squad. He put up his first NHL goal against the New York Islanders on Jan 10, 2026 and finished with a goal and two assists in his NHL season.

FIRST NHL GOAL ALERT! 🚨

One to remember for Ben Jones! pic.twitter.com/EoeMd32AO2

— NHL (@NHL) January 11, 2026

In the AHL, Jones played in 37 games and put up 12 goals and 20 assists for a 32 point total. The Iowa Wild did not qualify for playoffs in either season so Jones has not played in the post-season since being with the Wranglers a few years ago.

The Flames’ first call?

The Flames have previously relied on Dryden Hunt to be one of the first if not the first, call-up when they’re looking for a depth guy with some veteran experience. Jones in the fold now might alter that decision or calling order for this season. Especially since Jones has played quite a few more NHL games in recent years. Both are great options, but Ben Jones seems to be the first guy you’re looking at if the big club needs someone on a moment’s notice. At some point, his performance on its own is worth reconsidering for NHL playing time. Especially if he continues at the pace he has.

For the way this season is going and how the team is wanting to develop their young guys, it makes sense if they want to see more of other guys but at 27 years old, Jones isn’t past his prime by any means. He is on a two-way deal and cleared waivers at the start of the year to be assigned to the Wranglers. He’d be an easy choice, and this time around, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be overlooked for time with the Flames.

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Hunter Brzustewicz reflects on off-season, pre-season and the road ahead with the Wranglers

Paige Siewert — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 18:00:40 GMT

It’s been quite an eventful fall for Calgary Wranglers blueliner Hunter Brzustewicz.

After splitting last season between the AHL and NHL, many were thinking it was his time to be a full-timer in the NHL. Even he acknowledged he has work to do in his exit interview and was candid in saying he’s not quite an NHL player yet. Due to the roster changes over the summer and his waiver status being in his entry level contract, Hunter was cut from Flames camp and sent down to the Wranglers. He played in two preseason games and didn’t register any points. While he surely would like to be playing NHL games right now, he is facing his role and reality right now with grace and a humble mindset.

When he reflected on his preseason performance, he said:

“I felt better as I went. I thought the first game I started sort of slow a little bit. Just positioning-wise. Getting my feet underneath me in the first game. But like a short camp, you gotta be ready. I felt good throughout the summer. Really good at the end of summer. So all the stuff they told me to work on, I felt really good coming into camp.”

As an individual, Brzustewicz has been playing well, but finding an everyday partner for him on the blueline is still being determined. He spent quite a bit of time with Nick Cicek, Turner Ottenbreit and Artem Grushnikov last season with the Wranglers and Olli Maatta and Joel Hanley with the Flames. This year, he’s rotated between Mike Benning and Jake Livingstone. In adjusting to these new players and rotating pairings, he said:

“I’ve always talked about chemistry off the ice is just as important. I think that’s where it starts, the foundation. If you talk, you talk more on the ice and I think that goes a long way. I’m just trying to control what I can. But whoever I get paired up with, you just gotta be ready for it.”

Hunter Brzustewicz was one of the only blueliners that survived the summer on the AHL side with the exception of late-season ATO adds, Kent Anderson and Kyle Walker, who made the opening roster for the Wranglers but has since been sent down to the Rapid City Rush. For Brzustewicz, when he was in the NHL last season, he was battling with Brayden Pachal for a spot. Now, they’re both in the AHL battling for the next defensive call-up to the Flames. When asked about that dynamic, Brzustewicz said:

“We’re great. Everyone knows at the end of the day, it’s a business. It doesn’t matter who gets called up, you’re happy for them. You’re a teammate at the end of the day. At the same time, we’re both competitive and I think everyone wants to be in the NHL. I think that’s always the goal. If he’s working towards it, I’m working towards it. You’re happy for the guy next to you if it’s not you.”

When Pachal was sent down and some of the initial speculations were that the Flames may continue to carry eight defencemen in the NHL. with Brzustewicz the choice to take that spot by fans and insiders. Hunter Brzustewicz does a good job of blocking out the noise and just focusing on the controllable variables in his game and the results that come from it, come. He’s working the hardest he can for the call-up and when his time comes, he’ll be ready.

For now, he’s taking advantage of top paring minutes, time on the top power play unit, if not the second unit and how to react in big game moments early in the season. Just a few nights ago in San Jose, he saved an empty net goal by taking a penalty that was essential at that point in time. He has also been catching up well on the backcheck and has had a chance to showcase more of his scoring abilities.

In seven games this season so far, he has one goal, which was an empty-netter, and four assists. He sits at a plus-2 plus/minus rating and has been averaging two shots a game. The next game on the schedule is going to be an especially important one for him as he plays his brother Henry for the first time in their professional careers. Henry plays for the Reign and they’re set to play this week on Tuesday.

Hunter said ahead of this game, “I just want to beat my little brother. I can’t let him have all the wins sometimes.”

The last time these two played was in junior in a playoff series between Hunter’s team, the Kitchener Rangers and Henry’s team, the London Knights. The Knights swept the Rangers and ended their season. Understandable why Hunter is going to be especially amped up for this game.

As far as what the rest of the season looks like, that is going to be quite variable for number 48. He could be called up on a moment’s notice if there is an injury or trade at the big club level or he could be with the Wranglers for a while. The goal remains unchanged for him. Play in the NHL and, like he’s said multiple times before, is to treat that time like the blessing it is.

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Monday Mailbag: Talking early season results, attendance and more!

Ryan Pike — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:00:44 GMT

The Calgary Flames won their first home game of the season on Sunday night, putting together a pretty impressive effort against the Carolina Hurricanes. Their homestand will continue on Thursday when Blake Coleman and the Minnesota Wild come to town.

As we prepare for the ninth game of the season, let’s delve into the mailbag!

Will the Flames invite the players to the final Saddledome game who played the at the first game?

— arnold van reekum (@Schmengie) October 18, 2026

The Flames’ game production team has some cool plans for the year. They haven’t told me what they are, and I like surprises, but we can make some educated guesses. Based on what Rhett Warrener has teased on Barn Burner, the 2004 alumni will be involved in the four 2004 tribute nights in some capacity, and I think it’s reasonable to expect at least some alumni participation in saying goodbye to the Saddledome as we get into the later stages of the season.

I’m excited to see what form it takes.

What or who of the Flames have impressed you so far this season? And why?

— Ed Helinski 🇺🇸🇵🇱 🌴 (@MrEd315) October 18, 2026

So far this season, I’ve really noticed Kevin Bahl quite a bit in each game – usually for positive reasons – and his pairing with Simon Nemec has generally been quite good, despite the team’s overall results. And while they’re still fairly early in their pro journeys, I’ve liked the two call-ups, Aydar Suniev and Jonathan Castagna.

Hi Ryan! Lots of talk about attendance in the NHL lately. Can't imagine the Flames having issues with the last season at the Dome but are we seeing that? Also curious about this since this was a concern of owners with rebuilding too

— Kev (@KevinDang97) October 18, 2026

Honestly, I think it’s so far, so good on that front. I think a few things are working in the Flames’ favour right now.

First, the Flames’ ticket prices are, relative to the rest of the league, somewhat low – they were 24th in Forbes’ listing for average ticket price last season. Granted, I wouldn’t call a Flames game a cheap night out, but considering how pricey things are in other markets, they’re relatively competitive and you’re still able to pick and choose games to go to without having to get a second mortgage.

Second, the Flames have been pretty transparent about what they’re doing. They haven’t waved the white flag, but they’ve been pretty up-front with fans about their youth movement and following through on Craig Conroy’s dual pledges regarding adding youth and asset management. I think that transparency has fans on board with enjoying the integration of the kids and the team for what it is right now.

Third, the Flames have done a pretty strong job of celebrating the Saddledome’s history, between their alternate jersey plans, their merchandising and their history pieces in terms of website features and videos. So I think there are a ton of Flames fans that are gonna attend games this season that otherwise might not be as likely to do so just because it’s the final year in the ‘Dome.

It’s as much about work ethic and hard work and give a sheet as it is about wins and loses. I’m seeing a lack of this in the seasons start therefore I believe Huska won’t be around long unless there is a major change in the team’s effort. How safe is he to be around in 2027?

— Wayne Mcbutzvid (@ChrisDu77769503) October 18, 2026

Don’t see Huska et al. surviving the season who’s a name out there in junior ranks deserved of a shot at HC?

— Derek (@KohutD) October 18, 2026

We're dead last in the league. Is Huska on thin ice? #Flames

— Maureen (@mbbrennan) October 19, 2026

I made a video on my YouTube channel that encapsulates my thoughts in detail, but here’s the gist of it: I think he’s fine as long as the Flames are competitive, in terms of their games. The name of the game right now is player development. Wins and losses don’t matter a ton, as long as the Flames are competitive in losses and have positives to take away from them that will help in player development. If they’re getting their show run for 60 minutes every night, for awhile, then it’s a much different conversation.

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Beyond the Boxscore: Flames survive Hurricanes relentless forecheck to win game 3-2

Flash Stevens — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:00:01 GMT

The Calgary Flames came on late and made it count, taking their first home victory of the year 3-2 over the Carolina Hurricanes.

CF% – 38.54% || SCF% – 40.75% || HDCF% – 38.46% || xGF% – 36.89%

It’s a Team Game – This game was a grind for the Flames who really found themselves outmatched at multiple points in this game. Calgary came out and got some good chances early, but after Carolina got things going in a flow they kept forcing Flames turnovers all through both the neutral zone and Flames defending zone. Carolina would not hesitate after the turnovers occurred, showcasing a very impressive ability to tilt the ice regularly. They came close plenty of times as well, with Carolina hitting 5 posts in this one. All that to point out the Flames did a lot of surviving, but in the midst of that they would pounce on a rebound and shoot up the ice for their own chances. It all culminated in the third period where Calgary was able to really push the Hurricanes, and got one of those fast breaks where Yegor Sharangovich sniped one to send the residents of the Saddledome home happy.

Corsi King – Preface before we get into the numbers – they aren’t good. That’s fine, it was the defending cup champs and they still won, today’s focus is going to be on things I saw go well. Such as how often I noticed Mikael Backlund (52.19 CF%) lead the charge through the neutral zone with possession. He was constantly going from blue to blue entering the attacking zone with possession. Not often he needed to default to a long dump, he was really in control whenever he could get the puck in space. On the backend Kevin Bahl (49.25%) continued to keep things locked up tight. If you are going to approach him at the blueline be prepared to get a hit or a squeeze out. Either way, he’s making sure the puck leaves your stick. He always ends up with the puck in some good shooting spots, with Nemec there as an option to rip it I do think Bahl will see some lighter coverages. He could let a few blasts go from the high slot. I do prefer shots from in tight, but if you don’t keep the defence honest they’ll start cheating on coverage.

Under Pressure –

Taken By Chance – It’s really refreshing to see Matt Coronato (37.13 SCF% // 34.32 HDCF%) make something happen almost every game. It’s not just his shot doing the work, he’s hunting down pucks in the attacking zone, winning battles, making moves, and dishing it well too. He’s really rounding into a consistent scoring forward – whatever line he plays on is getting a treat, the opportunity to play with the clear best offensive weapon Calgary currently has. Although if Matvei Gridin (22.6% // 0%) can keep ripping it like he did on his goal (they called it medium danger due to distance) then Coronato can have some competition.

xG Breakdown –

xGF% – I’ve given Yegor Sharangovich (48.27 xGF%) a few shout-outs this year, as he’s consistently been very good. Now he’s getting a full blown paragraph dedicated to his hustle because he was extremely noticeable all night. He had six shots on net – not shot attempts, shots that connected – including the beautiful game winning clapper. His line was constantly able to flip the ice all night long, even amongst the long stretches of struggle Sharangovich and company were still pressing. He’s completely back in the zone and playing like he was the year he arrived in Calgary and scored 30. I hope it lasts, it’d be good for the team to have another reliable scoring option. Morgan Frost (50.40%) got in on the offence with Sharangovich, showcasing just how good he can look when things are rolling in the offensive zone. He just has had trouble operating from in there so far – not in this one.

I didn’t even get to mention Zayne Parekh (39.37%) – who was with a new partner today. Oh well, a good game next outing and he can have the Sharangovich treatment.

Game Flow –

Shot Heatmap –

In The Crease – Deevin Cooley was in last years form, doing everything in his power to stop every shot he could (and there were a lot of good ones). Carolina was constantly in his business, but Cooley just kept on trucking. No matter how loud the “pings” got behind him, or how much traffic was ambushing the slot, he remained his athletic self. Cooley had to scramble and make quick reactions in every period, right until the end. Without him and his 1.67 goals saved above expected (just at 5v5) this is not a happy Flames victory, it’s another significant home loss. (Significant because it is the last year of the Saddledome, not because of team expectations.)

The Goals –

🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥

Matvei Gridin scores his first goal of the season and it is a rocket 🚀

🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/FIzawv98QZ

— Robert Munnich (@Robert_Munnich) October 19, 2026

🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥

Farabee ➡️ Parekh ➡️ Frost. What a goal!

🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/aNzoIVv7PC

— Robert Munnich (@Robert_Munnich) October 19, 2026

🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥

Morgan Frost sets up Yegor Sharangovich for the go ahead goal!

🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/3qDvYNr5Ql

— Robert Munnich (@Robert_Munnich) October 19, 2026

Flash’s 3 Stars –

1) Devin Cooley

2) Morgan Frost

3) Yegor Sharangovich

(Stats compiled from Naturalstattrick.com // Game Score from Hockeystatcards.com // xG and Under Pressure charts from HockeyViz.com // Game Flow and Shot Heatmap from NaturalStatTrick.com)

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Three crucial minutes for Flames led to big victory over Carolina

Ryan Pike — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:22 GMT

Last week at home against the Colorado Avalanche, the Calgary Flames found themselves hemmed into their own zone. They couldn’t clear, ended up chasing the puck around in their own end for awhile, and ultimately it led to a goal against in a game that had already gotten away from them.

They ended up losing to the Avalanche by a 7-3 score.

On Sunday night at home against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Flames seemed to show progression. Yeah, they got stuck in their own end for awhile. Yeah, they had to find a way to survive that shift. But the Flames managed to withstand roughly three minutes of fairly sustained pressure from the defending Stanley Cup champions, including two shots on net, a missed shot and two blocked shots… and then went down to the other end of the ice and scored a big goal.

They ended up beating Carolina by a 3-2 score.

Here’s how that lengthy sequence swung the game.

How things unfolded

With 4:14 left on the clock in the second period, Carolina carried the puck in the Flames’ zone, with Yan Kuznetsov, Zayne Parekh, Brennan Othmann, Adam Klapka and Jonathan Castagna on the ice.

With 4:04 remaining, the Flames got the puck out of their zone. Othmann and Klapka changed off for Aydar Suniev and Yegor Sharangovich. Carolina dumped the puck back in at 3:55 remaining, but the Flames chipped the puck out again at 3:45. Parekh and Castasgna changed off for Zach Whitecloud and Morgan Frost.

The Hurricanes got the back into the Flames’ end with 3:39 remaining. Jesperi Kotkaniemi had a shot blocked by Whitecloud. Then Kotkaniemi’s shot deflection was stopped by Devin Cooley. Then Logan Stankoven missed the net.

With 2:39 left on the clock, the Flames cleared the zone. That allowed Sharangovich and Frost to swap off for Mikael Backlund and Matt Coronato. Carolina was back in the Flames zone at 2:32 remaining. A Jackson Blake shot was blocked by Whitecloud. A Stankoven deflection was stopped by Cooley. Suniev attempted to shuffle the puck to Cooley for him to cover, but the puck wasn’t frozen and things got a bit chaotic.

Finally, the Flames broke the puck out with control at 1:39 remaining, with Backlund rushing through the neutral zone, chipping the puck in and chasing it down (with Coronato following along). Whitecloud, Suniev and Kuznetsov finally got a change, replaced by Kevin Bahl, Simon Nemec and Matvei Gridin.

Gridin fired a puck on the Carolina net at 1:30, with the puck hitting the post and going in to tie the game at 1-1.

Calgary goal!

Scored by Matvei Gridin with 01:30 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Matt Coronato and Mikael Backlund.

CGY: 1 | CAR: 1#CARvsCGY #Flames #CarolinaCulture pic.twitter.com/uqJcOI74Qe

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 19, 2026

Kuznetsov’s shift lasted 3:13. Whitecloud’s lasted 2:10. Suniev’s lasted 2:22.

How they saw it

Following the game, head coach Ryan Huska, Gridin and Cooley were each asked about the lengthy sequence.

“I think that was the real turning point, I do,” said Huska. “Like it was Whitecloud and Kuznetsov, they were out there for three minutes, like almost all of three minutes. We gave up some zone time, we gave up some chances, but they held the fort, they found a way and that’s, to me, kind of shift in momentum in our favour a little bit where we got the quick goal after they got the puck out of the zone and then power play goal after that. So finding a way to hold the fort when you’re taking on water, they did an excellent job of doing that.”

“Yeah, it was a long shift for sure,” said Gridin. “Husk said after the game that the shift felt like six minutes and yeah, great job by our D in blocking shots and just, yeah, I thought I said it feels long but great job for us to score one after that. Great job by Cools. We didn’t give him a player of the game but he for sure deserved it.”

Cooley was very animated, as is his way, in discussing that sequence:

“It was, oh, thank God, you know? But that’s why we worked so hard with Rick [Davis, director of sports performance] and the strength guys all summer. So you could deal with that. So your lungs can handle it. And so, like, when that’s happening, I just, I try to slow my breathing down. Like, just relax. Like, just calm down. It’s going to be okay and just like really try to let my eyes do all the work, instead of my body, and not go chasing and not go running around. Try to conserve as much energy and just play a lot smarter than a lot harder, you know? And guys were unbelievable blocking shots, you know? We got trapped out there, it’s not easy for anybody, and and we survived, you know?

It happened against Colorado, actually, and that was a great learning lesson. Because it happened against Colorado and I’m playing super hard, I’m not playing smart, and then I give up a goal with no screen from the blue line. And it’s like, that’s exactly why you have to just calm your breathing down, calm your mind down. And see, I told you guys too, you know, you get lit up in Colorado and then you learn so much when you get lit up. And of course, if you get lit up, Husk isn’t going to want to play me. So I had a lot of time to work on things and I’ve been working with Barbs [Jason LaBarbera, goaltending coach] and it worked out, you know? I took a lot of lessons from Colorado and I used them tonight and it worked out, you know? I did get a little bit lucky with a lot of the posts, but you know, we’ll take that. Some nights you’re gonna get lucky, some of you’re gonna get unlucky. That’s just the chaotic nature of the game.”

The Flames are back in action on Thursday night when they host the Minnesota Wild.

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Instant Reaction: Flames weather the Hurricanes for first home win of season

Ryan Pike — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 02:40:08 GMT

Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

After two games on the road against familiar foes from the Pacific Division, the Calgary Flames returned home to kick off a four game homestand on Sunday night. And they kicked things off against their first Eastern Conference opponent of the season, the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

The Flames went kept battling back in a really entertaining game, taking the lead late in the third period and holding on for a gutsy 3-2 victory over Carolina for their first home win of the season.

The rundown

Neither team scored in a pretty scrambly opening period, with the Flames defending reasonably well but their puck management occasionally leading to those aforementioned scrambles.

Devin Cooley stood on his head for the first half of the game, making several saves, many of them really impressive stops of dangerous-looking Carolina scoring chances.

But the 19th shot Cooley faced hit the twine. The Hurricanes pressured off the rush, with an Eric Robinson shot being blocked, but Nicolas Deslauriers beat out a Flames defender to the loose puck and threw it on net. Cooley made the initial stop, but Jesperi Kotkaniemi, parked at the edge of the crease, jammed in the loose rebound to give Carolina a 1-0 lead.

Carolina goal!

Scored by Jesperi Kotkaniemi with 13:51 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Nicolas Deslauriers and Eric Robinson.

CGY: 0 | CAR: 1#CARvsCGY #Flames #CarolinaCulture pic.twitter.com/Pfdp26yfT7

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 19, 2026

The Flames were on their heels for awhile after that Carolina goal, including a pretty lengthy sequence where they couldn’t quite get a full line change, leaving blueliner Yan Kuznetsov on the ice for over three minutes (and Zach Whitecloud and Aydar Suniev stranded out in the defensive zone for over two minutes each). But the Flames weathered the storm and eventually broke out of their own end. Mikael Backlund rushed in and put a puck on Brandon Bussi… while everybody else made a change. After the home team corralled the reobund, Matt Coronato found Matvei Gridin coming off the bench into the slot area, and Gridin fired the puck past Bussi to tie the game at 1-1.

Calgary goal!

Scored by Matvei Gridin with 01:30 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Matt Coronato and Mikael Backlund.

CGY: 1 | CAR: 1#CARvsCGY #Flames #CarolinaCulture pic.twitter.com/uqJcOI74Qe

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 19, 2026

On the very next sequence, Carolina took a puck-over-glass delay of game minor. The Flames’ power play made some adjustments, moving the puck lower in the zone in response to Carolina’s aggressive pressing at the point. And it resulted in a very nice passing sequence, and a goal, with Zayne Parekh setting Morgan Frost in for a wide-open net and a tap-in to give the Flames a 2-1 lead.

Power play goal for Calgary!

Scored by Morgan Frost with 00:21 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Zayne Parekh and Joel Farabee.

CGY: 2 | CAR: 1#CARvsCGY #Flames #CarolinaCulture pic.twitter.com/gFaAVZ53jH

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 19, 2026

But wait! The Hurricanes got a late offensive zone face-off. They won the draw to the point and Jalen Chatfield opted to chuck the puck towards the net. It got past several bodies – including three Flames skaters – and beat a screened Cooley to tie the game at 2-2.

Carolina goal!

Scored by Jalen Chatfield with 00:04 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Jaccob Slavin and Sebastian Aho.

CGY: 2 | CAR: 2#CARvsCGY #Flames #CarolinaCulture pic.twitter.com/SWrGJ5bOeC

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 19, 2026

Both teams had their looks in the third period, with the Flames carrying play.

With 4:28 remaining in regulation, the Flames retook the lead off a very nice rush sequence. Morgan Frost chased down a puck as it entered the Carolina zone and was joined on the rush by Aydar Suniev. Frost found Yegor Sharangovich entering the rush as the trailer on the right wing, and Sharangovich snapped a shot high past Bussi to give the Flames a 3-2 lead.

The ‘Canes pulled Bussi for the extra attacker, but the Flames held on for the victory.

Why the Flames won

Let’s call a spade a spade: the Carolina Hurricanes are a damn good hockey club, and they have few, if any weaknesses.

The Flames took awhile to get themselves going in this hockey game, but they did a really nice job of settling in – in large part to their goaltender – and they were extremely up for the challenge that the Stanley Cup champions posed, with their game improving markedly across the board between periods one and three. The Canes hit a few posts, the Flames executed on a few more offensive chances than they did, and that was enough for the two points.

Red Warrior

It’s definitely Devin Cooley. He was superb for the red team, and kept them in the game in the first half before they found their swagger in the back half.

Turning point

Alright, take your pick, friends:

The Flames scored twice in 69 seconds to take the lead late in the second period.
The Hurricanes scored with three seconds left in the second period to tie the game.
The Flames scoring off the rush late to grab the lead.

Flames lineup

The Flames looked like this against Carolina:

Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund [C] – Matt Coronato
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospisil – Ryan Strome [A]
Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Aydar Suniev
Brennan Othmann – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka

Kevin Bahl – Simon Nemec
Jake Middleton – Zach Whitecloud [A]
Yan Kuznetsov – Zayne Parekh

Devin Cooley started in net, backed up by Devin Cooley. The healthy extras were Joel Hanley and Maxim Tsyplakov. Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Honzek missed the game due to injury.

This and that

This was Matt Coronato’s 200th NHL game and Morgan Frost’s 400th NHL game.

After Burner

Join Mike Gould and Cami Kepke right after the game for After Burner!

Up next

The Flames (2-6-0) are back in action on Thursday when they host the Minnesota Wild in Blake Coleman’s first game back in Calgary since the big trade.

PRESENTED BY THE DFO CALGARY NEWSLETTER

Notes from last game: There weren’t a lot of bright spots in the Flames’ 6-2 loss to the Golden Knights

Cynthia Ryley Delaney — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 19:45:54 GMT

All the positives from the two games against the Anaheim Ducks have disappeared.

Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights wasn’t great for the Calgary Flames, falling 6-2 to move their season record to 1-6-0. We knew this season was going to be a tough one, but this was a stinker, even in a rebuild.

Somehow, there were positives to take away from this 6-2 loss, but if this game taught us anything, it’s going to be a long few years for this team. Let’s take a look at the notes from last game.

The positives

Joel Farabee had a solid game. He picked up an assist on the Flames’ opening goal, less than a minute after his short-handed breakaway chance. Farabee has been the team’s primary set-up man, as his four assists are the most on the team, while his four points are tied for first on the team.

He’s tied with fellow top six player, Matt Coronato. Late in the game with it already out of reach, Coronato scored a power play goal, his second goal of the season. He’s in a three-way tie for first on the team.

I’ve been really impressed with Adam Klapka this season. Like Coronato, he has two goals through seven games. Although the Czech-born forward didn’t score, he seemed to be in the middle of every scrum and stood up for his teammates.

Martin Pospíšil is a similar player to Klapka, as he has a tendency to get under the opponents skin. While he didn’t score in this game, the Slovak-born forward started a scrum with the Flames down 6-1. I personally love when a player takes a pound of flesh in a blowout loss.

That same scrum saw Jake Middleton receive a 10 minute misconduct. The defenceman had a strong game, scoring his first goal as a Flame on the penalty kill. It was the first time that’s happened in eight years, and he also had a solid shot on a two-on-one later in the game. This was by far Middleton’s best game as a Flame.

The Flames fell 6-2, but without Dustin Wolf in the net, it would’ve been a lot more. He made a few key saves, including a great post-to-post denial and robbing Braeden Bowman of a highlight-reel goal in the final minute of the game.

That said, the opening goal against was a tone-setter for this game, as Wolf allowed a weak one to get by him less than a minute and a half into the game. On the third shot of the game, he allowed his second goal.

Wolf finished with an .818 save percentage, but the Golden Knights had 4.45 expected goals according to Hockey Stats, so it wasn’t Wolf’s worst performance.

The negatives

That second goal came on a breakaway, not really the fault of Wolf. Instead, the blame should be pinned on Yegor Sharangovich, who had his pass picked off by Jack Eichel.

Aydar Suniev looked impressive in his first three games, but the rookie struggled in this one. While he managed to fire three shots on goal, he finished as a game-worst minus-3. Morgan Frost (who picked up his first helper of the season) and Sharangovich also finished as a minus-2.

On their blue line, Šimon Nemec didn’t have a great game, finishing as a minus-2 in his 20:54 of ice time. Other than Middleton’s goal, their blue line had a rather disappointing game.

The turning point of this game came shortly after Farabee’s short-handed goal. On the same power play, Braeden Bowman scored to give the Golden Knights a 3-1 lead. They never looked back, as captain Mark Stone scored three consecutive goals.

Penalties were a major factor in this loss, as the Flames spent nearly half the second period in the box. The Golden Knights only capitalized on one of them, but it ruined the flow of the game for the Flames.

Another thing that cost the team was Wolf allowing the first goal on the first shot. Ideally, a netminder makes the save to help him and the team grow into the game. You can’t fault Wolf for the loss, but this was one he needed to save.

Other notes…

My favourite non-hockey thing from this game came with about five to play. Yan Kuznetsov and Zach Whitecloud stopped a high-danger scoring chance, and a mad scramble ensued. After the pressure was relieved, colour commentator Kevin Sawyer pulled out the fantastic quote of “Please don’t ask me to break that down.” It made me chuckle both times I watched the game.

The Flames are back in action on Sunday evening, returning home to host the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes. They haven’t had a Stanley Cup hangover, as they carry a seven-game win streak into the Saddledome.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFO Calgary, DFO Edmonton, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.

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Flames Game Day 8: The champs are here (6pm MT, SNW)

Ryan Pike — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 18:00:59 GMT

After a short road trip that saw them win once and lose once, the Calgary Flames (1-6-0, 2 points) are back at home and back in action! They face their first Eastern Conference foe of the season, and it’s a doozy: the reigning, defending Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes (7-1-1, 15 points). The ‘Canes are playing their second game in as many days, with travel, but they should be a big test for a Flames group still finding their footing early in the season.

Today’s broadcast begins at 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and QR Calgary! Tune in for Warmies before the game and After Burner following the game on the Barn Burner YouTube channel!

The Flames

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Aydar Suniev – Morgan Frost – Yegor Sharangovich
Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospisil – Ryan Strome
Brennan Othmann – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka

Kevin Bahl – Simon Nemec
Jake Middleton – Zach Whitecloud
Yan Kuznetsov – Zayne Parekh

It was an optional morning skate but per head coach Ryan Huska, it’s Devin Cooley to start in net and Dustin Wolf to back up. The Flames’ extras look to be Joel Hanley and Maxim Tsyplakov. There were some minor line and pairing shuffles after the Vegas loss, as reflected in Saturday’s practice. We’ll see if the new defensive duos providing a bit more balance.

We’re high-key fascinated by the new/old second line: Backlund has had chemistry with both Farabee and Coronato separately, and they’ve played together in fits and starts in the past, but giving them a run of games together might create quite a fun trio moving forward.

The Hurricanes

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

William Carrier – Sebastian Aho – Andrei Svechnikov
Bradly Nadeau – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Mark Jankowski – Jordan Martinook
Eric Robinson – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Felix Unger Sorum

Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Mike Reilly

After backing up Saturday in Winnipeg, we’re projecting Brandon Bussi to start in net for the Hurricanes, backed up by Pyotr Kochetkov. Saturday’s healthy extras were Nicolas Deslauriers and Juuso Valimaki, so we’ll see if head coach Rod Brind’Amour makes any tweaks for Sunday to a team that’s won seven in a row.

After – checks notes – winning the NHL’s storied championship back in June, the Hurricanes keep chugging along despite some injuries and departures. It helps that they have ample depth, good coaching, and a handful of difference-making players. Even with last change, these guys have enough quality up and down their lineup to give home teams a big challenge league-wide. We’ll see how the Flames deal with him.

A bit of trivia: the Hurricanes will be the first NHL club to play their final game at the Saddledome. After Sunday, their next visit to Calgary will be to Scotia Place.

Unavailable players

The Flames are without Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Honzek.

The Hurricanes are without Seth Jarvis, Alexander Nikishin, Jordan Staal and Taylor Hall.

The numbers

Flames		Hurricanes
1	Wins	7
2 (.143)	Points (%)	15 (.833)
56.7	xGF%	61.5
20.0	PP%	27.0
80.0	PK%	93.5

Head to head

This is the first of two games between these teams this season. They’ll meet again in Raleigh on Mar. 12.

BARN BURNER TAKES ON MONTREAL. BON VOYAGE, BABY!

We’re taking this show on the road — and you’re invited.

Pack your bags, rally the crew and get ready to bring the heat to Montreal. Travel packages are available now, but spots are limited!

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The Flames’ fourth line is quietly, effectively going about their business

Ryan Pike — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 16:00:35 GMT

Friends, from time to time, when you’re covering a team and writing and saying many things, on occasion you will write or say things that don’t age well. Well, seven games into the 2026-27 season, allow me to eat a little crow.

I was probably too harsh on the Calgary Flames’ fourth line prior to the season.

That’s not to say that the fourth line group has become the first line and led the Flames to glory. They’re a 1-6-0 team, after all, and they’re working through some challenges with their roster and lineup composition.

But so far, not only has the fourth line group, in its many swirling forms, not been a weak spot, they’ve actually been pretty effective at what the coaching staff has asked them to do.

The fourth line, at a glance

Game 1 (Seattle): Tsyplakov – Pospisil – Klapka [9:06 5v5 TOI; 0 GF, 0 GA]
Game 2 (Vancouver): Tsyplakov – Pospisil – Klapka [6:01 5v5 TOI; 0 GF, 0 GA]
Game 3 (Seattle): started as Tsyplakov – Pospisil – Klapka [6:22 5v5 TOI; 0 GF, 1 GA]
Game 4 (Colorado): Suniev – Castagna – Klapka [6:31 5v5 TOI; 1 GF, 2 GA]
Game 5 (Anaheim): Tsyplakov – Castagna – Klapka [6:28 5v5 TOI; 0 GF, 0 GA]
Game 6 (Anaheim): Tsyplakov – Castagna – Klapka [5:46 5v5 TOI; 1 GF, 0 GA]
Game 7 (Vegas): Tsyplakov – Castagna – Klapka [5:25 5v5 TOI; 0 GF, 0 GA]

All-in all, Adam Klapka has been the constant, with Martin Pospisil at centre for three games before he was elevated to the third line, and Jonathan Castagna joined the group. And as much as Flames fans probably want to see Brennan Othmann get another opportunity to play, arguably nobody on the fourth line has struggled to the point where it’s advantageous to swap them out.

Collectively, this unit has been on the ice for two goals for and three goals against at five-on-five. When you consider that the Flames collectively out-scored 25-9 at five-on-five, the fourth line being minus-1 on a team with a minus-16 situational goal differential is pretty good.

The fourth line bunch, at a glance

In three games on the fourth line, Pospisil had zero points, but he went 11-for-24 on face-offs and generated a 58.4 expected goals percentage. (He was bumped up the rotation after his third game.)

In one game on the fourth line, Aydar Suniev had zero points and generated a 53.0 expected goals percentage. (He was bumped up the rotation soon after that game.)

In four games on the fourth line, Castagna has an assist, gone 16-for-32 on face-offs and generated a 52.9 expected goals percentage.

In seven games on the fourth line, Klapka has two goals and generated a 54.3 expected goals percentage.

In six games on the fourth line, Tsyplakov has one assist and generated a 50.5 expected goals percentage.

Adam Klapka discusses the fourth line

On Saturday, after practice, forward Adam Klapka was asked about his linemates on the fourth line:

“It’s awesome. You know, George, it’s awesome. He’s winning so much face-offs for us, like, the line, so it’s awesome. And Tsyper, it’s awesome to have someone the same size almost like me on the forecheck and he’s going harder and he’s winning a lot of packs for us as well. So yeah, I feel like it’s sitting down and we understand each other like where the other guy is gonna be. So yeah, I really like it. I’m really enjoying playing with him.”

The Flames are back in action on Sunday night when they host the Carolina Hurricanes.

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