Power play goal for Calgary! Scored by Aydar Suniev with 09:11 left in the 1st. Assisted by Adam Klapka. CGY: 1 | MIN: 0 #MINvsCGY #Flames #mnwild
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Instant Reaction: Flames special teams tame the Wild in Blake Coleman’s return to Calgary
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
After a few days of practice since their triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, the Calgary Flames were back in action on Thursday evening when they were faced with another big challenge in the form of the Minnesota Wild.
Despite missing their captain, Mikael Backlund, due to injury, the Flames ended up playing another really solid game. They scored a couple first period power play goals and then hung on for a 2-1 home win over the Wild, spoiling Blake Coleman’s return to the Saddledome after his trade to Minnesota in July.
The rundown
The first period was fairly even, with both teams getting some looks. Midway through the period, on their second power play of the game thus far, the Flames cashed in. With Coleman in the box of punishment, Adam Klapka made a nice pass from below the goal line to find Aydar Suniev in the slot area. Suniev sniped the puck past Jesper Wallstedt to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.
A little bit later, the Flames drew yet another penalty and cashed in on the power play. That time, Morgan Frost made a smart bad-angle shot, seemingly shooting to create a rebound. Well, it worked, and Wallstedt made the initial stop but the puck blooped over to Joel Farabee, who collected it and fired it past a sprawling Jared Spurgeon to give the Flames a 2-0 lead.
Neither team scored in the second period, though the Wild generated a couple power plays of their own… but the Flames were up for the challenge on the penalty kill and kept the Wild’s special teams attackers at bay.
The Wild pressed hard to start the third period, aided by an early power play. The Flames killed off the man advantage, but a few minutes later the Wild finally lit the lamp. The Flames couldn’t quite clear the zone or disrupt Minnesota’s cycle, and Nico Sturm made a pass from below the goal line that found Mike McCarron near the slot area. His shot beat Devin Cooley to cut the Flames’ lead to 2-1.
The Wild kept pressing throughout the rest of the period, really dominating the flow of play. They pulled Wallstedt for the extra attacker and kept pressing late. But they couldn’t solve Cooley, and the Flames held on for a 2-1 win.
Why the Flames won
What’s the old saying? You’ve gotta be good to be lucky? Well, the Flames were lucky. But they were also pretty good. The Wild hit a lot of posts and narrowly missed the net when they had chances in this one. But the Flames did a good job limiting their chances through two periods, and then kinda held on for dear life in the third period when the Wild pressed.
But the Flames were in that position – leading the Wild through two periods – because they executed quite well offensively at key moments earlier in the game. Yeah, they were opportunistic. Yeah, they got some fortunate bounces and the posts were on their side.
But missing their captain and arguably their most consistent player, the Flames were full marks in this one. They faced a tough opponent in a less than opportunity situation – missing Mikael Backlund – and they seemed up for the challenge.
Red Warrior
We’re gonna go with Devin Cooley again. He was superb.
But a lot of guys in red jerseys brought their workboots.
Turning point
Honestly, take you pick of any number of Devin Cooley saves in the third period while the Flames were holding onto a one-goal lead.
Flames lineup
The Flames looked like this against Minnesota:
Joel Farabee [A] – Ben Jones – Matt Coronato
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospisil – Ryan Strome [A]
Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Aydar Suniev
Brennan Othmann – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospisil – Ryan Strome [A]
Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Aydar Suniev
Brennan Othmann – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka
Kevin Bahl – Simon Nemec
Jake Middleton – Zach Whitecloud [A]
Yan Kuznetsov – Zayne Parekh
Jake Middleton – Zach Whitecloud [A]
Yan Kuznetsov – Zayne Parekh
Devin Cooley started in net, backed up by Dustin Wolf. The healthy extras were Joel Hanley and Maxim Tsyplakov. Jonathan Huberdeau, Sam Honzek and Mikael Backlund missed the game due to injury.
With Backlund out day-to-day with an upper body injury, AHL call-up Ben Jones got into his first game with the Flames.
This and that
This was Blake Coleman’s first game back in Calgary after his trade to Minnesota. He was given a video tribute at the first TV timeout.
Welcome back, Colesy ❤️ Thank you for everything!
This was the 1,661st regular season game at the Saddledome, tying the ‘Dome with the old Detroit Olympia for eighth all-time in NHL history for games hosted by a single venue.
After Burner
Join Mike Gould and Cami Kepke right after the game for After Burner!
Up next
The Flames (3-6-0) are back at it on Saturday night when they host the Detroit Red Wings. It’s the first of four games with the Flames wearing their special 2004 retro alternate jerseys, and they’ll be giving out green hard hats to the first 2,004 fans in attendance.
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Calgary FlamesTeam Cap Summary
Cap Summary
2026-27
2027-28
Projected Cap Hit
$90,440,132
$69,841,666
Projected Cap Space
$13,559,868
$43,658,334
Current Cap Space
$15,383,710
$43,658,334
Active Players
23/23
16/23
Draft Picks
Round
'27
'28
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
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1