On Saturday night, Calgary Flames forward Joel Farabee scored a goal – the team’s lone goal – in a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. The tally was his second in as many games and third in 13 games since arriving in Calgary.

But speaking to the media following the game, Farabee seemed as excited about his newfound role with the Flames – and his presence on the ice in the dying moments of the game – as he was about his game-winning goal.

For the third consecutive game, Farabee found himself on a line with Flames captain Mikael Backlund and two-time Stanley Cup winner Blake Coleman. That trio is often tasked with facing the other team’s top line, as well as dealing with any other tough defensive assignments.

And that included being on the ice for 1:50 of the final 2:36 of Saturday night’s game, as the Habs pulled netminder Jakub Dobes for the extra attacker and attempted to score the equalizer. The Flames kept them off the scoresheet.

“It’s a real treat, honestly,” said Farabee. “I started my career in Philly as a guy that would go out there in the last minute. And then when Torts came in, that was no longer. It’s really nice to be trusted and to be out there.”

Farabee broke into the NHL in 2019-20 as a rookie with the Philadelphia Flyers, initially playing under head coach Alain Vigneault. His role and ice-time grew, peaking at an average of 17:35 in 2021-22 in a season where Vigneault was replaced mid-season on an interim basis by assistant coach Mike Yeo.

Yeo was ousted after that season and replaced by John Tortorella and Farabee’s role shrank. Farabee’s ice-time was whittled down under Tortorella: to 17:01 in 2022-23, 16:11 in 2023-24 and just 15:12 in 2024-25 prior to his trade to Calgary in late January.

Farabee had 19 points over 50 games with the Flyers before the trade to Calgary. After a slow start with the Flames offensively, Farabee seems to be finding his stride. Head coach Ryan Huska was asked about Farabee’s performance following the win over Montreal.

“I think with Joel, the first few games, I think he was like, ‘where do I fit in?'” said Huska. “Like, first time he’s ever been traded. I think there’s a bit of a period where he has to adjust to his new surroundings, new coaches, new teammates, all that stuff. And I feel like this is the fourth game in a row where he’s been a player that we’ve talked about after the game because of the way he’s played.”

For anybody in any job, finding a clear role with clear expectations can be a big contributor to success in that gig. When Farabee arrived in Calgary, many around the club – including Huska – made favourable comparisons regarding his playing style to Coleman. Suitably enough, many of those qualities – the ability to play a tough, physical game and contribute with offence, too – are coming to the fore on a line with Coleman.

And with Farabee starting to find a rhythm with the Flames, at the most important time of year, there’s optimism that he could be a big piece of the team’s success over their final 19 regular season games.

“Super excited with the way he’s trending,” said Huska. “He’s going to be a really important player for us down the stretch.”

The Flames return to action for a clash with the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.