Friends, let’s call a spade a spade. The Calgary Flames are, as presently constructed, a team that lacks superstars. They have many talented players, and some of their younger players could develop into superstars in the future, but right now the Flames aren’t a team where opponents look at their lineup and say “We have to stop that guy.”

But that might be the sneaky challenge in facing the Flames right now.

Over the first few games of the season, the Flames’ were playing some clunky, disjointed hockey. You could argue very little of their game was clicking, and several players seemed out of sync in different game situations.

But starting with their home loss to Anaheim on Oct. 10, the Flames have started to look more and more like… well, a team. They’re not a group that has one line or pairing that can overpower opponents, but when different parts of their game are working properly, they’re a tough team to play against.

Saturday night’s 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings is arguably a sort of template for how the Flames need to play to be effective.

At five-on-five, the Flames effectively rolled four lines. Jonathan Castagna and Matvei Gridin both logged 16:13 to lead the team’s forwards at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick, but functionally every line was used fairly evenly, with nine of the club’s 12 forwards logging north of 12 minutes at full strength.

The Flames out-scored Detroit 2-1 at five-on-five. Their power play scored twice, going two-for-two. Their penalty kill kept the Red Wings off the board, going two-for-two as well. As they managed to do against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night, the Flames managed to minimize the impact of Detroit’s star players, doing so without two-way ace and captain Mikael Backlund.

Post-game, head coach Ryan Huska lauded the complete team effort.

“I think that’s the way we’re going to have to be, really,” said Huska. “I mean, we’re going to play four lines, and it’s easier to say that now when you see the way George [Jonathan Castagna] is impacted – I should start calling him Jonathan – but it has impacted the team. Like, he’s done a lot of good things, and his minutes and his line’s minutes are way up there, and I think it allows us to be more of a four-line team. When everybody’s contributing, we feel a sense of value that they’re helping the team win, and as a coach, that’s what you want to have in the dressing room.”

According to Natural Stat Trick, Castagna’s line – with Brennan Othmann and Adam Klapka – actually led the Flames in five-on-five usage.

Joel Farabee had a goal and two assists to lead the team on the scoresheet, but he was one of eight players to register a point and one of four to score a goal. Through 10 games, Farabee leads the team with nine points.

“I think we’re just starting to figure out what it takes to win and how simply you have to play,” said Farabee. “And you have to play the right way at all times. And when you do that, you end up getting more offence than trying to cheat for chances and things like that. So I think that was a pretty collective effort from everyone. And, you know, I think it’s a little sneak peek into the future of what we can do if we just, you know, kind of dial it in and play the right way.”

The Flames are a team that lacks superstars. But that could be what makes them so dangerous.

The Flames return to action on Monday night when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs.