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Notes from last game: Flames survive Sharks’ pressure in 2-1 victory

Photo credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

By Cynthia Ryley Delaney

Nov 4, 2026, 19:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 4, 2026, 18:44 EST

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Few teams in the National Hockey League have been better than the Calgary Flames over their last 10 games.

Suddenly, the Flames are on the precipice of a playoff spot. Who would have guessed that after a 0-5-0 start to their season? Most of their wins have come at the Saddledome, but on Monday evening, the Flames defeated the San Jose Sharks by a score of 2-1 for their second road win of the season.

Let’s take a look at the positives, the negatives, and other notes.

The positives

The Flames have had some strong starts in this 7-3-0 stretch, and that continued on Monday. From the get-go, they were hemming the Sharks in the zone and generating quality chances. On the first shift of the game, Jake Middleton was all over the place, and it really set the tone for the first period.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flames generated 0.82 expected goals, owning 69.35 percent of the expected goal share in the opening frame. They also scored the first goal of the game courtesy of Adam Klapka.

It was an eventful game for Klapka, to say the least. Midway through the first period, he tripped Filip Bystedt with the game tied at zero. On Klapka’s next shift after the kill, Jonathan Castagna forced a neutral zone turnover and gave the 6’8” forward a rush chance. Klapka ripped it past Yaroslav Askarov for his third of the season.

That fourth line was easily the Flames’ best. Klapka picked up a helper midway through the third period, setting up William Strömgren from his knees. The Swede’s initial shot was stopped, but he was able to bat it past the Sharks’ netminder. Castagna picked up his second assist of the game, and this held up as the game-winner. This was Strömgren’s first NHL goal.

One sequence that may have gone unnoticed came in the second period. Klapka took his second penalty of the game (it was a follow through, it shouldn’t have been a penalty) and on the ensuing penalty kill, Martin Pospíšil forced a turnover on the forecheck. A quick pass to Joel Farabee led to the Sharks taking a penalty, giving the Flames a successful penalty kill.

The turning point of the game was surviving the Sharks push in the final two minutes of the second period. As a whole, Dustin Wolf had a

Dustin Wolf had a great game, stopping 26 of 27 shots for a .963 save percentage and a 2.01 Goals Saved Above Expected according to Hockey Stats. I was worried about his performance to begin this year, especially after last season, but these last few games have been great.

For the second consecutive game, two youngsters, Aydar Suniev and Zayne Parekh, showed chemistry in the offensive zone. It’s easy to see the two players linking up for power play goals after the rebuild is done.

The negatives

This was just the Flames’ second road win of the season. It’s hard to find any negatives from this game in reality, just a solid middle-of-a-road-trip type of win. After taking a 1-0 lead in a dominant first, the Flames buckled down and limited high-danger scoring chances in the second and third periods. The push came, the Flames survived.

That, of course, doesn’t play well in terms of expected goals, as the fourth line was the lone line with an expected goal share above 50 percent. Another area that they could improve in is in the face-off dot, going 37.9 percent of the 58 draws. It’s not the first time this season they’ve won just over a third of the draws.

And in a rebuilding year, wins are particularly good, though players will never attempt to lose. I think what’s positive about these wins is that it’s being driven by youngsters like Suniev, Wolf, Matvei Gridin, Parekh, as well as players like Matt Coronato, Joel Farabee, and Morgan Frost, players who could still be a Flame when the rebuild ends.

Other notes…

Before the game, all 32 teams presented their Hometown Remix jerseys, with the Sharks wearing theirs later that night. I’m a retro jersey collector and have always been a fan of the jerseys the Sharks wear, and you can add these ones to the list as well. I do like the Flames’ jersey as well, which we’ll see on Friday.

In the second period, Jacob Trouba nearly caught Gridin with his head down, but the Russian forward got the better of one of the best hitters in the league. Pretty funny to see, glad everyone was alright.

Robert Munnich

@Robert_Munnich

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Good thing Matvei Gridin had his head up. 🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames

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3:16 AM · Nov 3, 2026

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Also in the second period, there was a scrum midway through. In the bottom left corner of the frame, Parekh and Michael Misa “got into it”. They were teammates together with the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit, just thought this was a funny moment in the game.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney 🏳️‍⚧️

@CynthiaRDelaney

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I thought this scrum in the Flames/Sharks game last night was pretty funny. It brought Michael Misa and Zayne Parekh together, two junior teammates with the Saginaw Spirit.

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11:37 PM · Nov 3, 2026

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The Flames have another chance to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season, as they finish up their road trip with a match-up against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. It’s the fourth meeting in a little over a month, so expect some feistiness.

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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