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Beyond the Boxscore: Devin Cooley the star of the show again in big win over Minnesota

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

By Flash Stevens

Oct 23, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 23, 2026, 09:36 EDT

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The Calgary Flames once again got tremendous play out of Devin Cooley as they eked out a 2-1 victory at home against the visiting Minnesota Wild.

CF% – 42.71% || SCF% – 41.83% || HDCF% – 50.03% || xGF% – 45.54%

It’s a Team Game – Calgary came to play in front of their fans in this one, limiting dangerous chances at 5v5 and capitalizing on special teams to obtain victory. Minnesota was a tough opponent that did not give up much at 5v5. The Flames didn’t let them push them around by any means. There were waves in the first, aided by three power plays, where the Flames were able to keep momentum. That faded as the game went on, and prime scoring chances came few and far between. Players started selling out, playing structured defence and getting in front of as many pucks as possible (I see you, Jake Middleton). Devin Cooley did the rest, making some unconscious saves when the Flames needed it most. (he did admit he should have said subconscious a few days later, but unconscious is too good not to use). Second straight game with lights out play in the crease, we’ll discuss that more below.

Corsi King – It was another successful game for the Yan Kuznetsov (65.79 CF%) and Zayne Parekh (60.58%) pairing. Kuznetsov was out there for the goal against, but saw more than double the amount of shot attempts for vs against in his minutes. Parekh was absolutely dancing on the ice, making multiple plays where he left the man covering him in the dust. He never scored, but what he was doing was not something you see average players pull off. It’s exciting to watch him grow, step by step, game by game. I’m still positive the end product is something Flames fans will get to celebrate almost nightly.

Under Pressure –

Taken By Chance – Aydar Suniev (100 SCF% // 100 HDCF%) deserves a lot of love for his performance. That release on the powerplay goal – oh man that’s the good stuff. Off his stick in microseconds with no hesitation, a pure goal scorer no doubt. He and Sharangovich (100% // 100%) both saw multiple high danger chances for at 5v5 with nothing against. A goal and spending the entire game on the attack or pushing in a positive direction through the neutral zone – must have felt pretty good. Sharangovich is playing some of his best hockey in a Flames sweater too, I hope the goals can start to come for him too, he really deserves it.

xG Breakdown –

xGF% – You know who had three blocked shots playing big minutes in a game with a one goal lead? Simon Nemec (58.36 xGF%). That’s a huge sign of positivity from a guy who the team gave up a significant price for. He continues to be a top pair success story with Kevin Bahl (58.69%). The sample needs to get bigger yet before we can definitely say what level of stability that pairing will regularly look like, but the first 9 games have been excellent. Now that the Flames are getting saves the amount at which these two thrive together just becomes incredibly more noticeable. A solid foundation on the backend.

Game Flow –

Shot Heatmap –

In The Crease – I usually just talk 5v5 numbers, but this game requires I mention the all-situations ones. Goals saved above expected for Devin Cooley: 3.14 – just absolute unconscious domination in the crease. Never wake up Cool Man, it’s amazing to watch when he gets into the groove. I’m heading to the ‘04 celebration Saturday and I’m actually rooting for another Cooley start – he’s been on absolute fire for 2 straight, don’t pull him yet! Can’t say much more beyond calling Cooley excellent, because that’s what he was.

The Goals –

Flash’s 3 Stars –

1) Devin Cooley

2) Aydar Suniev

3) Joel Farabee

(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)

This article is presented by Shane Homes

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