Zayne Parekh dazzled, but the Flames fell short against the Rangers

The Calgary Flames played an imperfect hockey game on Wednesday night against the New York Rangers.

The Flames and the Rangers exchanged power play goals. The Rangers scored at even strength and the Flames did not. The Flames had a good first period and a good third period, but for the most recent in a string of games, a flat second period hurt them en route to a 3-1 home loss to the Rangers.

The Flames’ offensive challenges weren’t a huge surprise, given the composition of their roster. But the big story in the game was a dazzling first period scoring chance created from whole cloth by Flames defenceman Zayne Parekh.

At 3:41 into the first period, Parekh got possession of the puck at the right point of the Rangers’ zone. He made a move, slipping around Rangers forward Glenn Gawdin and getting into the slot area. From there, he cut down below the goal line, then swung back to the far post and tried to tuck the puck into the net.

Rangers netminder Joonas Korpisalo had to drop his stick and dive across the net to snatch the puck off the goal line with his blocker to prevent Parekh from scoring.

Post-game, Parekh described what he saw on the play to the assembled media.

“I just got a low high and, you know, a little inside out, and I thought he might stick with it,” said Parekh. “And then I thought the play was going to be dead when I tried to slip a guy’s triangle. And then the next thing I know, I was in the slot, and I was looking for a pass back door, and nothing was there. So I just tried to wrap it, and I think he makes a lucky save on it, to be honest.”

Flames forward Ryan Strome discussed Parekh’s play-making ability post-game.

“I don’t want his ego to get too big, but the plays he’s making are special,” joked Strome. “I mean, there’s not many guys in the NHL that can, you know, get the puck on their stick and transform the way the ice looks. And when you have a guy on the ice, even when I get a face-off with him, I always just say, just go, and I’ll try to fill it for you. I think he’s got that ability. I think you’re seeing it when he’s on the ice, whether it’s joining the play or attacking off the blue line. I think it’s such a threat.”

“Every time he’s got the puck, something good can happen,” added Strome.

Parekh played a team-high 22:43 against the Rangers, the most he’s played this season and second-most in his career to this point. He was credited with three shots on net, but he was also minus-1 – a product of being on the ice for Tye Kartye’s empty-net goal late in the third period.

The Flames are a team a bit low on offensive firepower this season, and so the margins in their games are often fairly thin. Parekh has shown the ability to attempt and execute some dazzling offensive plays. But in a game as tight as Wednesday’s was against the Rangers, the challenge is to be able to finish those chances rather than almost pulling them off.

“It was a wraparound we didn’t score on,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “I see it every night.”

Parekh was asked how his teammates reacted to him attempting the wrap-around play and almost pulling it off.

“Yeah, almost,” said Parekh. “That’s the key word these days. It feels like it’s just almost working for me, but I can’t finish some of these off. But they love it. I mean, Matty [Coronato] was loving it. I was sitting beside him and he thought it was hilarious. I felt like after that I tried to do a little too much with the puck. I think in the third I wanted to simplify a little bit more. But if it’s there, I’m going to try and keep making plays.”

The Flames are back in action on Saturday night as they kick off a three game road trip against the Los Angeles Kings.