For much of the first 35 minutes of Thursday’s game with the New York Rangers, the Calgary Flames were in control. They were playing, well, like the Flames we’ve seen play for much of the first 19 games of the 2024-25 season.
But a few momentary lapses on consecutive shifts led to a pair of Rangers goals over a 16-second span, and a two-goal Flames lead evaporating late in the second period.
But the Flames didn’t seem all that phased by the adversity. They battled through the third period and, via a timely (and beautiful) goal from Connor Zary, the Flames picked up a 3-2 victory on home ice against a really formidable opponent in the Rangers.
“We were pretty sure we were going to come out the right way in the third period again,” said head coach Ryan Huska following the game. “We’ve done it all year long. And I think you look at the older players, our room was noisy. It wasn’t really a big deal to them, so I was pleased with their approach and how they kind of turned the page and got ready for the third period.”
Speaking to the media in the locker room following the contest, blueliner MacKenzie Weegar reflected on how the team performed over the course of Thursday’s win.
“Our game, we’ve established an identity,” said Weegar, who had three assists on the night. “Which is big for our group. I think coming into the Saddledome now, it’s hard to play against our group. We’ve got forwards tracking and forechecking hard and D are in your face. Goalies are kicking. We have an identity, and I love to see it. The first period, we just kept coming and coming, and I think it wore down on that team. That’s big talk in our group is wearing those D down and wearing the forwards down. There was a minute and a half where we kind of got away from our game there. Just a couple box outs that we needed to fix, but other than that, it was a solid game for our group.”
If you hear echos of some of Huska’s past quotes in Weegar’s description, it’s probably not a coincidence. The Flames probably don’t boast the type of offensive weapons that other teams – including the Rangers – do in their lineup. So the Flames have to play a particular brand of hockey in order to succeed: fast, physical and structured. The style that Huska has preached since the beginning of training camp.
Through 20 games of the 2024-25 season, the Flames have largely stuck to that game and even if they haven’t won all of them, they’ve largely stuck around in games. (The exceptions being their one-sided losses to Vegas and Utah.)
Whether you want to call it the Flames’ style, identity or brand, it’s been at the forefront of a really effective stretch of hockey during the month of November, allowing them to post a 6-2-2 record. Thursday’s outing against the Rangers was pretty emblematic of how the Flames need to play in order to have success – structured play in all three zones, timely saves and timely goals.
“I think when you look at complete game, that would have to be one of them for us,” said Huska. “There was a stretch, like I said, about five minutes where I thought we got a little bit loose with our checking details, but other than that we were really pleased with our effort tonight.”
The Flames conclude their homestand on Saturday afternoon with a matinee against the Minnesota Wild.
