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Notes from last game: Parekh shines as Flames disappoint in final pre-season game

Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

By Cynthia Ryley Delaney

Sep 27, 2026, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 27, 2026, 15:44 EDT

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For the first time all pre-season, the Calgary Flames looked out-matched.

On Saturday evening, the Flames played their fourth and final pre-season game, falling 4-1 to the Edmonton Oilers to move to 1-2-1 in the four games. With the season quickly approaching, both teams’ lineups consisted of many players expected to play in the National Hockey League this season.

Let’s take a look at the notable performances, those who disappointed, and other notes.

The standout performances

It wasn’t a particularly good game for the Flames. On top of the 4-1 loss, they were out-shot 28-24 and lost the special teams battle. That said, there were still a few notable performances, with the best of the bunch belonging to Zayne Parekh.

The right-shot defenceman finished as a minus-3, on the ice for all three of the Oilers even strength goals, but my God, is he ever going to be a good player. Playing 21:07 minutes of ice time, Parekh’s passing was sharp, and he even made some strong defensive plays.

It wasn’t a perfect game by any means. He didn’t have much of a chance on the Oilers’ second goal, but went down too early and provided a screen on the third goal, and was a bit too aggressive on their fourth goal. That said, the Oilers are a Stanley Cup contender and Parekh has 38 games of NHL experience. He’ll learn.

Dustin Wolf’s game wasn’t great on the surface level, allowing four goals on 28 shots for an .857 save percentage. However, he was tasked with numerous high danger shots that he turned away and kept this game from ending 6-1 or even 7-1. The Oilers had 3.12 expected goals and dominated five on five play.

The only real success the Flames had offensively was in the middle of the third period. With nine to play, Matt Coronato scored a power play goal after some nice passing, as the Oilers took back-to-back penalties. Matvei Gridin and Joel Farabee picked up assists.

Four Flames owned an expected goal share above 50 percent during five on five play. Adam Klapka, Martin Pospíšil, Parekh, and Kevin Bahl. Klapka and Pospíšil played on the fourth line, the Flames’ best line, while the Flames had 0.48 expected goals with Bahl on the ice.

Šimon Nemec’s 26.34 percent of the expected goal share during five on five action was the worst, but he baited Zach Hyman into taking a penalty to make it four-on-four. Also in my notes was that he made a nice pass for a tip in the second period.

Samuel Honzek has had some good pre-season games. He wasn’t that noticeable in this game, but his line managed to shutdown McDavid for the most part during five-on-five action. Facing the McDavid line (also consisting of Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin), the trio only managed to score once with Honzek on the ice. He’s earned a look on the roster to begin the season, if you ask me.

The disappointing performances

Jake Middleton was Parekh’s partner, and he didn’t have a great game. He lost a foot race to Kasperi Kapanen on the Oilers’ fourth goal, and failed to hold the puck in the offensive zone on the Oilers’ second goal. I’m not sure Middleton should be Parekh’s partner this season.

Only four forwards finished with an even plus/minus or better, Yegor Sharangovich, Ryan Strome, Connor Zary, and Matvei Gridin. Of the four, only Gridin made any sort of impact, picking up an assist on Coronato’s goal.

It’s hard to pin any one player for the loss, as it was a team effort that saw them fall 4-1. Certain players stood out at certain times, but aside from Parekh, no player was particularly good in the Flames’ final tuneup.

Other notes…

There’s nothing major to note in this one. The Oilers don’t know how to count, taking a bench minor for too many men on the ice. In the third, the Flames showed some fight, but it was far too little, far too late.

Thankfully, the real thing begins on Thurs., Oct. 1 against the Seattle Kraken at 7:00 p.m. MT. It’s going to be a fun season, so buckle in!

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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