Game Day | Flames vs. Red Wings – 10.12.25

Game Day | Flames vs. Red Wings – 10.12.25

Welcome inside of the Sea of Red and to another Calgary Flames game day. And here to get you set for the finale of a four-game home stand and a game against the Detroit Red Wings. I’m Derek Wills alongside Megan Mickelson. Well, Monday night was quite a night inside of Scotia Banks Saddle Dome. A back andforth battle between the Calgary Flames and the Buffalo Sabres. And when all was said and done, the Flames scored a season high seven goals in a wacky 7-4 win over the Sabres, which improved them to three-0 to start a four-game home stand and a 72-1 in their last 10 games. And a big part of Monday’s game, Mick, was the power play. The Flames with two power play goals against the league’s top penalty kill. Tell us about the power play and why it’s having more success of late. Well, I asked Ryan Husker that question and he said that in short, the players are now executing what they’re asking them to do. You look at the goal uh Morgan Frost net front on the first power play goal, taking away the goalender’s eyes. That’s huge when you have that shot volume on the power play, which is what you want uh to make sure that you have traffic as well. So, executed really well on that one. The second power play goal, some really good puck movement and puck pace. And that’s how you break down uh the league’s top penalty kills. you move the puck around really quick, you open up seams, uh, and just sort of break down their coverage with that puck pace. So, uh, just a a real good job of executing what the coaches are are asking them to do. Uh, so a great performance on the power play. Good to see them pot a couple. Yeah, and one of the reasons why the Flames have picked up points in eight of their last 10 games. There’s been some consistency in their top nine at forward and in their top five on defense, but that third pairing has been all over the place. If I’m not mistaken, Joel Hanley is going to play with his fifth different partner here tonight as we see Hunter Bruce Stevich make his season debut. He did make his NHL debut in game 82 against the Los Angeles Kings last season. What should we expect in his first game of this 2025 2026 campaign here tonight? Yeah, and only his second NHL game. But for Hunter coming in, what he’s talked about is making sure that he’s playing with pace. uh when he was sent down uh at the end of the preseason, that was one of the things that the coaching staff asked him to work on is to really get his pace of play back up, his foot speed. So, making sure that he’s consistent with that uh on a shift-to-shift basis. Uh the other thing Ryan Huska said, they want him to defend hard and now Hunter Brousvich is not a guy that’s going to run players through the end walls, uh but being hard to play against in terms of closing quickly, not giving opponents any time and space. So, defending really well in that area. But his biggest strength uh is his ability to move the puck. And that’s something that this coaching staff feels of the back end has maybe been lacking a little bit on that third pairing is just making simple plays to get the puck up and out of their end. They really feel like Hunter Brousavich is a guy that can help in that area. So the only change at forward or on defense is Hunter Breavich comes in for Braden Pal. Devin Culie will get to start in goal in this game against the Detroit Red Wings tonight. It’s a big one for the Calgary Flames. Don’t look now, Mick. But if the Flames win this game and get some help on the out of town scoreboard tonight, they’ll be one point out of a Stanley Cup playoff spot. So the goal is sweep this four-game home stand. What are the three keys to victory for the Flames going to be in this game against the Red Wings tonight? Well, the first one is just to get back to, you know, their identity in terms of their checking game. That was something that was missing from the game on Monday. Uh the Detroit Red Wings are really dangerous team off the rush. Uh they’re also first in the NHL in producing high danger shots. So, uh, just making sure that you’re checking really well, uh, to prevent those rush chances, but also in terms of in your own zone, in the defensive zone, killing plays quickly, checking really hard. The second one is to make sure that they’re playing a full 60 minutes. You look at the Detroit Red Wings, uh, and over the course of the season, they’ve been really slow to start games. They are 32nd in the NHL in first period goals, but after that, they can come on really strong in those second and third periods, especially with the offensive talent that they have. So, uh, just making sure you get off to a strong start, but you need to play a full 60 against this Red Wings team. And then the last one is making sure that they’re playing a disciplined game. Uh, we saw, as you would like to say, a parade to the penalty box on both sides on Monday, but for the Flames and playing against the Detroit Red Wings in particular. Their power play is seventh in the NHL, but Ryan Huska told us this morning that it actually plays more like a top three power play in the NHL. So, staying out of the box going to be really important. Well, it should be a heck of a hockey game here at Scosia Bank Saddle tonight. Again, the Flames with an opportunity to sweep a four-game homestead to improve to 82 and one in their last 11 and maybe to move to within one point of a playoff spot. Looking forward to this game against the Red Wings tonight. You can listen to it. Megan and I will have the call on Sports Net 960 the fan. You can also watch it on Wednesday Night Hockey on Sportset. The game starts at 6:30. Enjoy it everybody. [Music]

Meaghan Mikkelson and Derek Wills tee up Wednesday’s tilt at the ‘Dome