The Calgary Flames dropped another game to a Western Conference foe, this time being at the new home of the new team in town, the Utah Hockey Club, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. It’s the fourth loss in a row for the Flames, who have found themselves on a downswing following a hot start to the season.
Losing 5-0 to any team is never “acceptable,” but a powerhouse team like the Vegas Golden Knights in T-Mobile Arena has done that to even the best of opponents. However, giving up another five goals for a second game in a row means bigger issues are at play.
Flames head coach Ryan Huska, known for his even-keeled temperament in almost everything he does, was clearly upset with his team’s effort following tonight’s loss (via Flames TV):
“We got outplayed in almost every position,” Huska said. “The last two games for me, there’s a little pushback with how we have to play. If we’re going to try and do things on our own or try to play a fancy, cute game, it doesn’t work for us. So, it’s something that, hopefully, the room recognizes and understands that in the last two games, the work ethic hasn’t been where it needs to be. For me, that starts right at the top, and it works its way right down. That’s a big reason why we’ve scored one goal in two games and given up 10. It can’t happen that way for us.”
While he is a steady emotional presence, one positive about Huska’s coaching style is that he doesn’t mince words. The most recent example I can think of before tonight is when he didn’t hold back on Martin Pospisil for taking an ill-advised neutral zone penalty that put the Winnipeg Jets on the power play. If he thinks a player or line or, in this case, a group of players isn’t performing well.
“You have to work harder,” Huska said. “Our group of forwards tonight, they have to work much harder than they did. To me, they were easy guys to play against. Their goaltender made a few saves, but he had to make no second saves. He didn’t have to fight through any traffic because we weren’t working hard enough to get ourselves there. There’s not a lot of sugarcoating that can be done tonight. I thought we got outplayed.”
Despite the loss, it was a special night for Huska’s captain, Mikael Backlund, who had his friends and family in attendance for his 1,000th career NHL game. Everyone, including the man behind the bench, knew how special that achievement is, and how unfortunate a result like the one the Flames ended with is in a celebratory circumstance.
“It’s a great night for Mikael,” Huska said. “He’s, of course, always going to remember it, but he’s always going to remember the way it ended up too.”
The disappointing two-game road trip is finally at an end, and the Flames are heading back home for two games to begin November. They embark on another road trip following the two contests, one of which includes the Connor McDavid-less Edmonton Oilers in the Battle of Alberta. Huska will want his group to perform much better in their own barn than they did over the last week and, especially in the last two games.
