The Calgary Flames had a very successful first pre-season game, and one of last year&#8217;s preseason standouts, Matt Coronato, got out of the gate fast to start this year&#8217;s.
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In a 6-1 win against the Seattle Kraken, Coronato registered a goal and two assists, helping to lead the Flames to victory. And it wasn&#8217;t as if the assists he registered were measly &#8220;tap-to-the-nearest-player&#8221; secondary assists, but they were both beautiful primary assists that created the goal (and added to the highlight reels for good measure).
After the Flames went up 1-0 less than two minutes into the game, it took only five minutes for the Flames to add another, courtesy of Coronato. And while it wasn&#8217;t the prettiest goal of his career (a massive amount of credit goes to Dryden Hunt for batting the puck out of mid-air to keep the play alive and close to the net), it gave Calgary what they needed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Matt Coronato puts the Flames up 2-0! 🔥🔥 <a href="https://t.co/Y3pj9LZymM">pic.twitter.com/Y3pj9LZymM</a>
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1838041912596693297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
But the highlight of the night came next in the sequence of events.
After going into the first intermission with a comfortable 3-0 lead, the worst thing the Flames could do was step off the gas and give up momentum.
They didn&#8217;t.
Not only did the group prevent Seattle from scoring through the first half of the second period, but Coronato registered what might be one of the highlights of his entire preseason. A nifty cross-ice backhand saucer pass to the stick of Jeremie Poirier gave the Flames their fourth goal of the game.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Matt Coronato makes a ridiculous backhand sauce pass to Jérémie Poirier who buries it!
4-0 Flames 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/xO2DO3MLyU">pic.twitter.com/xO2DO3MLyU</a>
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1838057956228857872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
Postgame, Coronato was asked about the team&#8217;s effort and what the team did well tonight. One key was going to the net, which Poirier did, giving Coronato a much better chance at an assist on a beautiful play.
&#8220;I thought guys did a good job going to the net,&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He4Vssu5k8Y">Coronato said to Flames TV following the game</a>. &#8220;A couple of guys got rewarded for that, but overall, I think it&#8217;s more of the same, just sticking to the right way to play: the way that the coaches and staff have been preaching for the last couple of days. I think we did a good job executing that.&#8221;
And, finally, Coronato&#8217;s last assist of the night was another impressive pass. This time, though, it wasn&#8217;t necessarily a beautiful tape-to-tape cross-ice pass, but instead, it was a pass of foresight and excellent vision.
Instead of moving the puck directly to the open man when entering the zone and being pressed by the Kraken defenseman Haydn Fleury, Coronato put the puck into space, allowing Martin Frk to walk in and rip the biscuit into the basket. But the play doesn&#8217;t start without a perfect stretch pass from Hunter Brzustewicz, who earned his second assist of the night on the play.
&#8220;Hunter [Brzustewicz] made a couple of great passes all night long,&#8221; Coronato said. &#8220;He definitely sees [the ice] really well. A bunch of guys made some really good plays, but yeah, he found me streaking through the neutral zone, and Frk-y was wide open back door. Like I said, a bunch of guys made a lot of great plays. It was a fun game.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Matt Coronato makes another great play. This time he sets up Martin Frk who scores on a great shot.
6-1 Flames 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/wmWGh2Qgdv">pic.twitter.com/wmWGh2Qgdv</a>
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1838071080717816165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
Although we saw Coronato impress last preseason and then lose his performance and consistency once the regular season began, this Coronato looks much more confident in his play. He looks like a player with training camp, preseason, and, most importantly, NHL experience. His leadership on the ice tonight led the Flames to an important preseason win, especially for the young players.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s a great way to start off,&#8221; Coronato said. &#8220;It&#8217;s good for guys to get their feet wet and get the first one. It&#8217;s nice, and I think everyone should be happy with the way it went tonight.&#8221;
The Flames&#8217; next two games will be split-squad games against the Edmonton Oilers at home and away, both at 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time on Sept. 23. Coronato and company will be looking to add to their win total, and for Coronato specifically, he will want to build on his already strong three-point and highlight-reel-filled foundation built against the Kraken.

The Calgary Flames had a very successful first pre-season game, and one of last year's preseason standouts, Matt Coronato, got out of the gate fast to start this year's.
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In a 6-1 win against the Seattle Kraken, Coronato registered a goal and two assists, helping to lead the Flames to victory. And it wasn't as if the assists he registered were measly "tap-to-the-nearest-player" secondary assists, but they were both beautiful primary assists that created the goal (and added to the highlight reels for good measure).

After the Flames went up 1-0 less than two minutes into the game, it took only five minutes for the Flames to add another, courtesy of Coronato. And while it wasn't the prettiest goal of his career (a massive amount of credit goes to Dryden Hunt for batting the puck out of mid-air to keep the play alive and close to the net), it gave Calgary what they needed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Matt Coronato puts the Flames up 2-0! 🔥🔥 <a href="https://t.co/Y3pj9LZymM">pic.twitter.com/Y3pj9LZymM</a>
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1838041912596693297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
But the highlight of the night came next in the sequence of events.

After going into the first intermission with a comfortable 3-0 lead, the worst thing the Flames could do was step off the gas and give up momentum.

They didn't.

Not only did the group prevent Seattle from scoring through the first half of the second period, but Coronato registered what might be one of the highlights of his entire preseason. A nifty cross-ice backhand saucer pass to the stick of Jeremie Poirier gave the Flames their fourth goal of the game.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Matt Coronato makes a ridiculous backhand sauce pass to Jérémie Poirier who buries it!
4-0 Flames 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/xO2DO3MLyU">pic.twitter.com/xO2DO3MLyU</a>

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1838057956228857872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
Postgame, Coronato was asked about the team's effort and what the team did well tonight. One key was going to the net, which Poirier did, giving Coronato a much better chance at an assist on a beautiful play.

"I thought guys did a good job going to the net," <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He4Vssu5k8Y">Coronato said to Flames TV following the game</a>. "A couple of guys got rewarded for that, but overall, I think it's more of the same, just sticking to the right way to play: the way that the coaches and staff have been preaching for the last couple of days. I think we did a good job executing that."

And, finally, Coronato's last assist of the night was another impressive pass. This time, though, it wasn't necessarily a beautiful tape-to-tape cross-ice pass, but instead, it was a pass of foresight and excellent vision.

Instead of moving the puck directly to the open man when entering the zone and being pressed by the Kraken defenseman Haydn Fleury, Coronato put the puck into space, allowing Martin Frk to walk in and rip the biscuit into the basket. But the play doesn't start without a perfect stretch pass from Hunter Brzustewicz, who earned his second assist of the night on the play.

"Hunter [Brzustewicz] made a couple of great passes all night long," Coronato said. "He definitely sees [the ice] really well. A bunch of guys made some really good plays, but yeah, he found me streaking through the neutral zone, and Frk-y was wide open back door. Like I said, a bunch of guys made a lot of great plays. It was a fun game."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Matt Coronato makes another great play. This time he sets up Martin Frk who scores on a great shot.
6-1 Flames 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/wmWGh2Qgdv">pic.twitter.com/wmWGh2Qgdv</a>

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1838071080717816165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
Although we saw Coronato impress last preseason and then lose his performance and consistency once the regular season began, this Coronato looks much more confident in his play. He looks like a player with training camp, preseason, and, most importantly, NHL experience. His leadership on the ice tonight led the Flames to an important preseason win, especially for the young players.

"I think it's a great way to start off," Coronato said. "It's good for guys to get their feet wet and get the first one. It's nice, and I think everyone should be happy with the way it went tonight."

The Flames' next two games will be split-squad games against the Edmonton Oilers at home and away, both at 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time on Sept. 23. Coronato and company will be looking to add to their win total, and for Coronato specifically, he will want to build on his already strong three-point and highlight-reel-filled foundation built against the Kraken.

Matt Coronato started his pre-season off with a bang against the Seattle Kraken

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