Folks, hockey is a strange game sometimes.

Earlier this season, it’s probably not unfair to say that the Calgary Flames had a more stacked roster than they do right now. All due respect to the players they’ve added, but swapping out the likes of Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau, Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar for Ryan Strome, Victor Olofsson, Olli Maatta and Zach Whitecloud is a downgrade.

But now that the trade deadline is done with and the die has been cast, the Flames know who they are and what they are. They know what style of game they need to play in order to be successful, but they’re also a team that doesn’t seem to be facing much pressure, and so they’re able to just… play.

On Tuesday night, the Flames ran their winning streak to a season-high four games with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

Three of the four pucks the Flames put behind Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper were fairly noteworthy.

Trailing 1-0 late in the second period, the Flames’ third line got the puck in the Kings zone and began cycling the puck. Olli Maatta snuck down from the point as the puck was being passed around, and Victor Olofsson fired a pass to him in the slot. Maatta’s shot lacked velocity but had some accuracy, beating Darcy Kuemper inside the post to tie the game.

Acquired from Utah, it was Maatta’s first goal of the season (and as a Flame) and his sixth point as a Flame. Acquired from Colorado, it was Olofsson’s fourth point with the Flames. Acquired from Anaheim, it was Strome’s seventh point as a Flame. (He only had nine with Anaheim.)

While the first goal was scored by a trio of veterans, the second goal, a five-on-three tally, saw three youngsters team up. Zayne Parekh fired the puck past Kuemper for his first goal of the season.

The goal by Parekh, a 2024 first-round pick, came with assists from 2021 first-round pick Matt Coronato and 2024 first-round pick Matvei Gridin. The helper was Gridin’s 13th point of the season, but also his seventh point in his last 10 games.

“I feel like he’s always been a confident kid I think he just understands the game a little bit more right now so that maybe is translating into more offence production for him,” said head coach Ryan Huska following the game. “He’s always got a great bit of swagger that as coaches we quite enjoy not a lot of young guys have what he’s got and I just feel like him understanding the game a little bit better now is putting him in positions to actually finish and generate some offence.”

After Morgan Frost and Artemi Panarin exchanged goals earlier in the shootout, Yegor Sharangovich stepped onto the ice with the game on his stick.

And then he lost control of the puck on an attempted deke.

And it went into the net anyway.

“Kucherov move, just a different way,” joked Sharangovich to the assembled media. “No, actually, I want to go to backhand and just puck slip, it between his legs. It doesn’t matter. It’s a goal.”

The win gave the Flames their longest win streak since the last four games of last season. They’re now 30-34-7 on the season. They’re 10 points out of the post-season and have no illusions about making the playoffs this spring. With a tough schedule the rest of the way, they’re inevitably going to be chewing on some losses down the stretch.

But on Tuesday night? The team was enjoying a hard fought victory, four home triumphs in a row, and some immaculate vibes.

The Flames are back in action on Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks.