Hockey’s a weird sport sometimes.

Through the first five games of the season, the Calgary Flames looked like a fragile team with zero confidence with the puck. They lost their first five games, getting out-scored 27-8 in the process. If we’re being brutally honest, they looked at times like they couldn’t buy a goal.

The Flames won their first game of the season on Oct. 13 in Anaheim. If you include that game, the Flames are 5-1-0 over their last six outings. They’ve out-scored their opponents 20-14. And they’re showing a ton of confidence, both in terms of playing with the puck, scoring goals at key times, and holding onto leads.

In front of a pretty packed Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday night, a building full of loud, partisan fans in blue jerseys, the Flames delivered once again. In the fourth and final game of their homestand, the Flames completed the sweep, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs by a 5-2 score.

The Flames spotted themselves a 3-0 lead by the first minute of the second period, off a pair of goals from Matvei Gridin, the Flames’ youngest player, and another from captain Mikael Backlund, their oldest player. The Maple Leafs chipped away at the home side’s lead, but Joel Farabee and Martin Pospisil added late empty-netters to give the Flames their victory.

The highlight of the game for Flames fans was arguably Gridin’s second goal, a power play marker scored just 25 seconds into the second period. On the play, Zayne Parekh made an outlet pass that sent Gridin in alone against Leafs netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. Gridin fired a shot that beat Bobrovsky on his glove side to give the Flames a 3-0 lead.

“I told him right before the draw,” said Parekh, discussing the pass. “I mean, we’ve hit on that play a lot where, you know, maybe we haven’t scored on it, but we’ve gotten clean entries, and I just told him before the draw, like, if you see it, just, you know, be ready. And all I saw was his stick was touching the ceiling, and he wanted that thing. So I got it to him, and, I mean, what a shot. Yeah, special.”

Following the goal, Gridin celebrated in a manner befitting a confident player whose nickname is “Griddy.” He danced The Griddy.

“Up by three, having fun and it’s kind of like, I don’t know, just feel to do it,” said Gridin.

“I didn’t see it coming,” said Parekh. “I kind of backed up and let him do it, but I mean he’s having fun. You know, there’s no ill thought in his head. He’s just a kid having fun, and, you know, we’re having fun as a team, and this hockey’s a lot of fun right now.”

A couple weeks ago, the Flames looked like a group that couldn’t buy a goal. Now, they’re playing fast, confident hockey, and are trying some fun, fancy plays with the puck in the offensive zone. Gridin acknowledged the team’s growing confidence of late.

“Yeah, it grows a lot, but it all starts with us playing the right way,” said Gridin. “And then because we play it the right way, we can afford to do some fun stuff with the puck. You know what I mean? And yeah, just four in a row, we’re playing great hockey right now and just keep doing that.”

“I think it’s been building as we’ve been talking about,” said head coach Ryan Huska. “I think, again, we look like a faster team right now because I think we’re doing things the right way. We’re playing a simpler ground hockey and it’s resulting in more opportunities and the guys are now having success.”

The Flames, after their 0-5-0 start, sit 5-6-0 after 11 games. They’ll attempt to get back to the .500 mark on Wednesday night when they visit the Edmonton Oilers.