1. Sweet Home Alberta
It’s another quick trip home.
And over the next 120 minutes or more of hockey, a hope that familiar environs bring with them happy totals, as the Flames open a two-game homestand against the Sharks at the Scotiabank Saddledome. GET TICKETS
The team flew home from Missouri Wednesday after enduring a tough go on the road. But here in their home rink, there’s hope that fortunes will change for the better against a San Jose team against whom Calgary enjoyed considerable success a season ago.
The play of Matt Coronato is one reason to have hope. Over the past three games, he’s launched 22 pucks on goal and his goal in St. Louis Tuesday night was a thing of beauty, an act of offensive confidence that lit a spark under the team.
Every little bit of positivity helps, as the Flames get set for another busy seven day stretch that will see them play four times in three different time zones as this hectic fall schedule continues.
“You go a couple games without scoring, like, it wears on them, for sure,” Head Coach Ryan Huska said after Tuesday’s 3-2 loss in the Show Me State. “There’s no doubt about that, but I think the key thing is to make sure you stay true to how you have to play the game.
“Matt’s a good example of that over the last three games. He’s shooting the puck a ton. He’ll continue to get rewarded if he continues to do what he’s done in the last three games.”
It’s that commitment to doing things the right way that – according to Huska – has helped Coronato be one of the team’s most dangerous threats over the past week.
And it’s Huska’s hope that Tuesday’s goal – a top-shelf snipe that showcased the Long Islander’s talent at ripping pucks from just about anywhere in the offensive zone – is a sign of things to come.
“He’s been a threat now again, which is important for our team,” said Huska. “So he’s doing the right things to put himself in positions to get pucks back.
“And to me, he’s more competitive on and at the puck right now, and that’s why he’s having some success.”
The Flames announced they recalled Rory Kerins Thursday morning. CLICK FOR MORE
