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Notes from last game: Devin Cooley steals show in Flames’ 3-2 victory over Hurricanes

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

By Cynthia Ryley Delaney

Oct 20, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 19, 2026, 23:16 EDT

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The Calgary Flames’ 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes will go down as their final first win of the season at the Saddledome.

On Sunday evening, the Flames hosted the reigning Stanley Cup champions in what will be the final time the Hurricanes play at the Saddledome. Entering the game on a seven-game winning streak, the Flames not only beat the Hurricanes, but hung with them as well in what will be one of the more memorable wins of the season.

Let’s take a look at the positives, the negatives, and other notes from the game.

The positives

The Flames don’t win this game without Devin Cooley. Before the second period even ended, I had written down in my notes that he had a terrific game in my notes for this one. Upon re-watch, yeah, he was deserving of the first star he got.

While the Hurricanes are a high-volume shooting team, the Flames’ netminder made several key stops, including a breakaway in the second period with the Canes up 1-0. He’s also damn entertaining on the ice, embracing the Dominik Hašek philosophy of “I flop and I stop.”

The Flames held their own in this game, but lost the expected goal battle 3.79 to 3.53. Cooley finished the game with 1.79 Goals Saved Above Expected.

There were a few milestones set in this game. Matt Coronato played his 200th game and Morgan Frost his 400th game. The former picked up an assist, the latter scored a goal and an assist.

Captain Mikael Backlund was initially credited for an assist on the Flames’ opening goal, which would’ve seen him match Johnny Gaudreau for all-time points in a Flames uniform. Unfortunately, the assist was taken away after Brandon Bussi touched the puck.

That goal was assisted by Coronato, and it was scored by Matvei Gridin, his first of the year. The shot itself was a laser beam, but I really like how he managed to gather the puck, as it wasn’t easy to receive. He’s been playing a lot better these last few games.

Just before that goal, the Flames nearly spent three minutes in their own end, with Yan Kuznetsov playing nearly all of it. He won the puck battle that briefly got the puck out. The Flames surviving this onslaught turned out to be a big reason they won this game, as Gridin’s goal came shortly after.

Nine seconds after the goal, the Flames forecheck forced Mike Reilly to flip the puck over the glass. A minute later, Frost scored his third of the season, assists courtesy of Zayne Parekh and Joel Farabee. What a nasty pass by Parekh, who had the gloves going all evening.

The Flames went 1/4 on the power play, but I liked what I saw. Šimon Nemec made a couple strong plays in a first period power play to deny the Hurricanes a short-handed goal. Their final power play didn’t lead to a goal, but it was the type of man-advantage that helps a team gain momentum.

That momentum led to Yegor Sharangovich’s game-winning goal with under five to play, his second of the season and first with a netminder between the pipes. It was a great shot, and he’s been doing the little stuff right as of late.

With the Hurricanes’ net empty, Jonathan Castagna just missed scoring the first of his NHL career. It was nice to see the rookie out there to defend a 3-2 lead in the final minutes of the game, the Flames really like him.

The negatives

There weren’t a lot of negatives for the team, aside from maybe the late goal in the second period.

In the end, the rebuilding Flames hung with the defending Stanley Cup champions. They were out-shot by just two, won more faceoffs, went 1/4 on the power play, and took just two penalties of their own.

As for individual performances, it was a tough night for the third line of Ryan Strome, Gridin, and Martin Pospíšil. Gridin scored the Flames’ first goal on the power play and avoided finishing with a -2, unlike Pospíšil and Strome. The trio combined for just 8.06 percent of the expected goal share.

The first line of Joel Farabee, Mikael Backlund, and Matt Coronato also lost the expected goal share battle, finishing with 40.70 percent of it, but they weren’t scored on. Both the second and fourth lines won the expected goal share battle.

Brennan Othmann played his second game of the season. I can’t tell you what he did, even after re-watching the game. If he wants to remain in the lineup, he has to get under the opposition’s skin. He played on the fourth line alongside Adam Klapka and Castagna.

Backlund left the game after a hit, but according to this report by Robin Olausson for hockeysverige, it doesn’t appear to be long-term. That’s good news for the longest-tenured Flame.

Other notes…

On top of having a terrific game, Cooley also had a fantastic post-game interview. What a great personality he is for this sport, and you have to love how honest he is. It also helps that when he’s an “unconscious goalie”, he’s pretty darn good as well.

Robert Munnich

@Robert_Munnich

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Another Devin Cooley banger of an interview 😂

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3:48 AM · Oct 19, 2026

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Another thing of note came midway through the first period. Flames’ captain Mikael Backlund just missed a chance to open the scoring. In the ensuing scramble, a Hurricane lost balance and managed to trip three other players in the process. It looked like a synchronized swimming set in the Olympics, or me playing house hockey when I was 15.

Sportsnet

@Sportsnet

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Bodies were flying EVERYWHERE after Mikael Backlund's missed opportunity 😂

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12:45 AM · Oct 19, 2026

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The next Flames’ game is still a few days away, as they are set to host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, the second game of a four-game home stand.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFO Calgary, DFO Edmonton, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.

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