Every single player in the Calgary Flames’ dressing room is all too aware that one win only does so much.
A 2-0 victory over a San Jose Sharks team that delivered a quite-awful effort takes some of the pressure off a Flames squad that had lost three straight heading into Thursday’s game. But the reality is they’re still dead-last in the NHL and have a lot of work to do if they’ve even got a remote shot of digging themselves out of their hole.
What did feel important, though, was that the Flames managed to put together a full 60 minutes.
Yeah, “playing a full 60 minutes” is a time-tested hockey cliche, but it’s also been a genuine challenge for the Flames this season.
And on Thursday, they finally felt like they put a complete game together.
“It’s confirmation that the buy-in’s got to be there,” said Blake Coleman, who scored the Flames’ opening goal against the Sharks at the Saddledome. “Too many games, we’ve had 45 really good minutes and have a lapse for five or 10 minutes at different points of the game and it’s cost us in a big way because they score one or two and we’re not able to make up the difference right now.”
Make no mistake, the Flames really were all over the Sharks from beginning to end. They allowed one shot in the first period and five in the second. Only a late flurry from the visitors in the final minute dragged their shot total to respectability, but Dustin Wolf still turned away all 16 shots he faced for his first shutout of the year.
And the Flames were relentless on the forecheck. They forced turnovers and probably should have scored a few more while recording 36 shots. They didn’t, and burying puck in the back of the net remains an issue, but it’s one that feels a little less pressing when you’re picking up two points.
“We have to play that way,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “It’s not like we’re going to see ourselves in a lot of 6-5 or 6-4 games. We have to be content and OK with winning games 2-1 or 2-0. If you do things the right way without the puck, your chances are going to come. We had the shot volume again, we had some really good chances.”
Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s win:
Flames forward Blake Coleman scores on Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov during Thursday’s game.
LEADING THE WAY
Coleman’s goal was a pretty one.
Yes, it came off a bizarre turnover when the Sharks’ Sam Dickinson and Phillip Kurashev basically skated into one another, but Coleman capitalized and calmly tucked the puck bar-down past Yaroslav Askarov.
It was his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
“Been working on that one a little bit in warmups,” Coleman said. “Kinda had an idea of what I wanted and he came out with a pretty aggressive poke-check.”
Throughout the night, Coleman and linemates Mikael Backlund and Sam Honzek did a great job not only creating opportunities but locking down Macklin Celebrini.
Huska described his veterans as looking “younger” on the night, and reserved particularly high praise for Coleman.
“He goes to the net, he doesn’t always score the prettiest goals, but he’s a worker and he is the type of guy that makes the people around him better,” Huska said. “With his offensive ability, it’s not like his hands are outstanding or anything like that, but he’s very good at understanding where to go and where the puck’s going to be.”
Honzek sealed the deal with four seconds left in regulation when he buried the puck into an empty net for the second goal of his NHL career.
Flames goalie Dustin Wolf defends against the Sharks during Thursday’s game.
DON’T CALL IT EASY
Wolf didn’t face a tonne of shots on Thursday. That doesn’t mean he had an easy night.
Talk to any goalie and they’ll tell you that the games where there are long gaps between shots present a huge challenge. They need to stay locked-in and seeing a few pucks coming your way helps out.
“It’s tough. But at the same time, that’s your job is to stay focused and stay present,” Wolf said. “Credit to our guys for playing in their zone most of the night, especially in the first period. They didn’t have anything until their one opportunity late in the period there. That’s the way we need to play and that’s the way we’re going to find success.”
Wolf did everything that was asked of him to earn his first shutout of the season. While the Sharks were not good by any definition of the word on Thursday, they did create a few good chances down the stretch.
Because of Wolf, they amounted to nothing.
Flames forward Rory Kerins tries to slow Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini on Thursday.
FITTING RIGHT IN
After playing five games last season and pushing for a roster spot all throughout training camp, Rory Kerins finally got called up from the Calgary Wranglers this week and made his season debut against the Sharks.
Placed on a line with Nazem Kadri and Joel Farabee, Kerins didn’t look out of place. He only managed one shot, but was strong along the boards and moved the puck well.
“I thought he played well, I thought he did a really good job,” Huska said. “He thinks the game very well, which makes me excited about his future and what he can be.”
Fans have clamoured for the 23-year-old to be included in the Flames’ lineup since he picked up four assists in the five games he played last year. With the team struggling to produce any type of offence recently, he should get a long look.
“It felt good. I was keeping it pretty simple, trying to get on the forecheck, in front of the net, get in some hard areas for Naz and Beezer to make plays,” Kerins said. “Yeah, I felt good out there. I thought we generated some chances. I think we play like that for a couple more games, we’re gonna put some pucks in the back of the net.”
Flames forward Ryan Lomberg battles Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini on Thursday.