It’s a Team Game – This was not the case of the Flames being opportunistic, or the Stars goaltender having an off night. No, this Flames team gave the Dallas Stars one heck of a fight for the first 40 minutes, almost getting themselves into a spot where the Stars could not recover. They were aggressive in getting to the middle of the ice at 5v5, are starting to utilize the kids better on the powerplay, and are ending up with more than 2 goals in a game more frequently. This post-deadline approach to offence is one that has been an absolute pleasure for myself down the stretch – it really is great to see an NHL coach adapt his system to better suit the needs of the team. That does not always happen, so kudos to Huska for this improved style which has led to improved results.

Corsi King – Sometimes when a member of the fourth line leads things off I just look past the performance, especially when you see the ice time disparity. Adam Klapka (85.82 per cent) was particularly awesome in his minutes in this one though. He was making smart decisions with the puck and really made a showcase for why, at this point of his career, a 4th line NHL role is where he belongs. That size and speed combination is wasted in the minors and he has enough offensive awareness to be a regular 4th line contributor.

Under Pressure –

Taken By Chance – This is a game where Calgary lost their most reliable defenceman early in the 1st period, and two guys had to really pick up the slack. That’s no problem for the Calgary Flames version of Olli Määttä (46.23 SCF% // 52.77 HDCF% // 6 high danger chances for) who, out of nowhere, decided to become an offensive defenceman. It’s not just in the numbers either, some of the passes he’s executing in transition are nasty to watch. The other gentleman that shouldered the load was other newcomer, Zach Whitecloud (50.20 per cent // 62.99 per cent). Anchored by two guys who were on other teams in 2025, but contributed to the Flames pushing the Stars to the brink. The new guys are pretty alright, which gives Calgary at least a quality base level for their rookies to try and grow to (but hopefully grow right past).

xG Breakdown –

(There’s been some errors with HockeyViz publishing the other graph – my favourite of the two for xG – so sometimes it will not be posted due to it not existing. Sorry for the inconvenience if it’s one of your favourites too)

xGF% – I was critical of Zayne Parekh (74.91 per cent) the other day when I thought he was struggling to find passing lanes and create offence, that was not the case here. Still being deployed as the least used defenceman, Pareekh made his minutes count by being very effective with his pacing, passing, and anticipation. He got back in time regularly and was great with an active stick. Matvei Gridin (45.91 per cent) has dropped off in impact over the last week. He still naturally finds ways to get on the scoresheet, but he was nowhere near as dominant shift-to-shift as he was a week ago. Learning that consistency is on the table for him, one I’m not too worried about based on what we’ve already been shown. Lastly, Aydar Suniev (8.90 per cent) got to play again. First games when you switch pace can be rough, and his line did not really work out well tonight, but he still deserves another shot to play after getting a game to adjust to the NHL speed. Not much from him, but that doesn’t mean he needs to be cycled out of the lineup rotation – the opposite in fact you should want to see him more and see if he’s capable of adjusting his game upward yet.

Game Flow –

(Game Score has also completely changed their website – their numbers are no longer saveable as a picture I can upload and will no longer be included going forward)

Shot Heatmap –

In The Crease – If starts were based on merit and performance Devin Cooley would have played consecutive games more times than 3 this season, but alas we also need young Mr. Wolf to grow and develop for the future. Cooley remained his sharp self and almost single-handedly got the team through a 4 minute overtime penalty kill. Eventually 40 goal scorer Wyatt Johnston duped him, but not before Cooley displayed some heroics that we’ve got the pleasure of seeing plenty of this year. Excited to have him in the fold for next year, he’s certainly earned his place (and then some).

The Goals –