A year ago, Josh Jooris was a relatively anonymous complementary player for the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. But life’s weird sometimes, and tonight he scored three goals.

Seriously, in an NHL game. He now has 8 goals this season. He had 11 all of last season in the American League.

The Flames beat the Arizona Coyotes by a 5-2 score tonight at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Their string of strong play, combined with occasional good bounces, continues.

Y’know how the Calgary Flames have been the NHL’s most beloved underdogs, typically getting behind really early and scratching and clawing back into the game later on?

Tonight, the story was getting the lead and blowing the lead, then getting another one.

1:12 into the first, David Jones scored to give the Flames an early lead. That lead lasted roughly seven minutes, when Oliver Ekman-Larsson tied it up. Ten minutes later, Josh Jooris scored his first of the game to give the Flames a lead heading into the intermission. Shots were 10-10.

Two minutes into the second, the one-goal lead vanished, as Sam Gagner tied it. (The second Flames lead lasted roughly three and a half minutes.) Five minutes later, Jooris’ second goal made it 3-2. Shots were 11-9 for the Coyotes in the second period, but the Flames kept their lead.

The Coyotes out-shot the Flames in the third period 8-5, but didn’t really out-play them. They attempted to tie the game, but also took a pair of penalties that sapped their momentum and gave Calgary power-plays – one early and one late. Unlike in Edmonton the night prior, the Flames didn’t give up any short-handed goals. In fact, Sean Monahan scored mid-way through the third to give Calgary a bit of insurance, and then Jooris added an empty-netter late (on the second power-play the Coyotes provided) to complete the hat-trick and ice the game.

The Flames blew a pair of leads but they never really panicked. This is a confident group right now, with confidence in its own resiliency and in the notion that the next goal will come, with just a question of where it’ll come from.

It helps that the confidence is throughout the line-up, so seemingly every player – okay, maybe not Bollig or Baertschi – are thinking that they’ll be able to step up and be the difference-maker.

Gonna go with the obvious here and give it to Josh Jooris.

Three goals on three shots, +2, 71% in the face-off circle and all that with 14:45 of ice-time. Six forwards had more ice-time than him and he still got a hat-trick.

This win is the Calgary Flames’ 16th of the regular season after 26 games. Last season they hit 16 wins after 46 games. It took ’em 37 games to hit 34 points last season, too.

It’s impressive, is what I’m getting at, how improved this team is compared to last season.

I don’t think many people expected Calgary to be in the upper part of the standings group. I personally thought they’d be in the lower group.

Calgary’s back in action on Thursday night when they host Jarome Iginla and the Colorado Avalanche.