After a recovery day on Friday, the Calgary Flames had a pair of new faces at Saturday’s morning skate, as new acquisitions Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee joined the team on the ice for the first time.
With Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier gone to Philadelphia, and Frost and Farabee in from the Flyers, the Flames’ coaching staff mixed up their lines a little bit ahead of Saturday’s meeting with the Detroit Red Wings.
Staying together, of course, is the team’s most consistent, most used line: Blake Coleman, Mikael Backlund and Matt Coronato. Playing against the other team’s top players, they’ve consistently out-chanced, out-shot and out-scored their opponents.
Also sticking together is the club’s fourth line, with Adam Klapka returning from Thursday’s battlefield promotion up the lineup to go back with Clark Bishop and Ryan Lomberg. (We’ll be digging into the fourth line’s season-long personnel blender later this week.)
This leaves two new lines, triggered by the new arrivals.
According to Dobber Hockey’s Frozen Tools database, Farabee most often played on a line with Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier while with the Flyers. He’s starting off in Calgary on a line with Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau.
“I was a little surprised,” said Farabee of his first-line assignment, after morning skate. “Obviously two really good players obviously playing against them for a few years and hopefully I can just, you know, get the puck to them. Obviously they are guys that when they have the puck on the stick, they’re dangerous. So just get in the corner, try to get them the puck.”
Flames bench boss Ryan Huska discussed the decision to place Farabee on the right side of the top line.
“He’s a good player and we feel like when he’s playing with good players that he’s going to help us generate some offence,” said Huska. “But he also brings, he’s strong in his stick. He’s a little bit like Coles. So we feel like what he can bring to the table has the potential to work with those other two guys.”
Meanwhile, Frost finds himself on the third line, playing centre between Martin Pospisil and Yegor Sharangovich. In Philadelphia, he most often played with Owen Tippett and one of Konecny or Matvei Michkov. Frost discussed his new linemates after morning skate.
“I know Sharangovich, a skilled player, great shot,” said Frost. “Pospisil, I hated playing against him so it would be nice to have him on my side now. I’ll try and get those guys the puck, I think that’s kind of my thing and hopefully we can create some chaos out there and put a couple in it.”
Huska discussed what makes Frost a fit with his two new wingers.
“Frost is a dynamic play-making centre,” said Huska. “Maybe the way I would describe him, when he has the puck on his stick, a lot of good things happen. With Sharan on the wing, I think we’ve talked before, it allows him to leave the zone to try to push defence out. With Sharan being a shooter, hopefully they can find a little chemistry and connection together. On the other side, Marty knows his job. He’s going to be straight up and down the wing like he was with Huby and [Kadri]. He’s going to have to try to create some space for those other two guys to make some plays and then go to the net. So I think it has the makings to be a good line.”
The power play units at Saturday’s morning skate, with Mikael Backlund taking the option to not skate, were as follows (via Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg):
  • Unit 1: Kadri, Huberdeau, Coronato, Frost, Weegar
  • Unit 2: Coleman, Farabee, Sharangovich, Andersson, Barrie
Huska indicated he sees both newcomers, Frost and Farabee, being on the power play, and Farabee “probably” working into the penalty kill, too.
Frost and Farabee will make their Flames debuts on Saturday when Calgary hosts Detroit.
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