Procrastination was apparently the theme of the day for the Calgary Flames.
A few hours before Friday’s opening faceoff in Florida, the Flames announced that oh-by-the-way they’d signed four of their top executives — including Craig Conroy and Don Maloney — to contract extensions prior to the start of this season.
To celebrate, the players did a little dilly-dallying of their own.
They spotted the defending Stanley Cup champions an early two-goal cushion, only to rally for a 5-3 victory in a Black Friday matinee in Sunrise, Fla.
“I’m proud of our group that we didn’t fold,” star centre Nazem Kadri told reporters after the flipped script against the Panthers, which marked the Flames’ first multi-goal comeback since opening night.
“Obviously not the start we wanted, but I just didn’t think we let it affect us,” agreed workhorse defenceman MacKenzie Weegar, who scored his first of the season in his old stomping grounds, in a walk-off interview on Sportsnet. “I thought we just put our heads down and we got back to work.”
Rookie blue-liner Yan Kuznetsov turned the momentum with his first big-league bury, while Kadri contributed a goal and two assists and Weegar, Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee also found the back of the net in Florida. Farabee’s late empty-netter was his 100th career notch at the NHL level.
After the Panthers cashed on both their first and second shot of the afternoon, grabbing a 2-0 lead after less than three minutes, Flames backup Devin Cooley regrouped to then stop 36 of the next 37.
Here are three takeaways from Friday’s victory …
Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar skates down ice pursued by Panthers forward Sam Reinhart.
Power of positivity
Even as he’s been piling up minuses, Weegar has been preaching positivity.
Showing the sort of team-first mentality that leads many to believe that he will be Calgary’s next captain, Weegar has been accountable to his ugly stat-line — he continues to own the NHL’s worst plus-minus, at dash-20 — but has also stressed that it’s not in his nature to mope around or sour the mood in the locker-room.
That’s the first thing we thought of after Friday’s slump-buster.
On the TV broadcast, you could see his heavy exhale when the 31-year-old returned to the bench.
“If you start playing the victim and start feeling bad for yourself, you’re never going to get out of the hole,” Weegar told Postmedia before this road trip. “I just try to bring the same attitude every game day. I’m still having fun. I still enjoy the game. I know the point production and that stuff isn’t there, but I still try to find ways to help the team with being physical and blocking shots.
“And I’m still trying to get pucks to the net and trying to score goals. It just hasn’t been going that way. If something bounces in, hopefully I can get some puck luck and take off from there. ”
Weegar’s marker, a low slapper as Blake Coleman created traffic out front, came on his 53rd shot of this season. In fact, he arrived in Florida with significantly more SOGs than any other NHLer who had yet to light the lamp in the 2025-26 campaign.
“I’m just really happy to contribute offensively to a win,” Weegar said. “And hopefully it can kind of spring something.”
Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov looks on after giving up a goal against the Flames.
Kudos to Kuznetsov
In Friday’s post-game interview on Sportsnet, there was really only one goal that Weegar wanted to talk about.
Not his, but Kuznetsov’s.
The two have been partnered for the past two-and-half weeks. It will remain that way, because Kuznetsov is not going to be returning to the AHL’s Wranglers.
“Kuzy, that was a big goal for us there,” Weegar said. “I have nothing but great things to say about that kid right now. He’s playing great. He started this big win for us.
“It’s super exciting for him, and he deserves it. He’s been working hard for this moment, and I’m happy that I could be by his side for it.”
Since Kuznetsov is much more shutdown sort than sharpshooter, it’s fitting that this scoring sequence started with a slick defensive play, a crafty stick-check to poke the puck away from a future Hall-of-Famer in Brad Marchand.
The 23-year-old then jumped into the rush, receiving a pass from Coleman and ultimately firing from high in the slot, freezing Daniil Tarasov with a glove-side shot.
“It means a lot,” Kuznetsov told Sportsnet’s Brendan Parker at the second intermission. “I’ve already played a bunch of games, but it’s not the same when you don’t have any goals, right? Everybody loves to score goals and I’m no exception, so I’m pretty glad to get that one.”
Flames goaltender Devin Cooley stops a shot as Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist and Flames defenceman Yan Kuznetsov battle for position.
A string of stick-taps
Let’s do something a little different with this third and final takeaway, since there’s still a few things that shouldn’t be overlooked …
So how about some mini stick-taps?
Let’s open with another stick-tap to Cooley, who has now won three consecutive starts. There’s no goalie controversy in Calgary, but the second-stringer has played all but 66 minutes over a five-game stretch and continues to show that Dustin Wolf isn’t the only reliable puck-stopper on the payroll.
“I think Cools did a great job for us once again,” Weegar told reporters at Amerant Bank Arena. “He’s been a great goaltender for us, making great, great saves. And he’s having fun back there, I think, which gives us confidence in him, as well.”
A stick-tap, too, to the Flames’ much-maligned power-play.
They scored a crucial go-ahead goal at the start of Friday’s second period, capitalizing on a five-on-three man-advantage.
Rasmus Andersson walloped a blast from the blue-line, and Frost tucked the rebound.
“Very big for our power-play to step up and score there,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “That’s always the difference in a game. You get a full two-minute five-on-three, you have to score. You really do, otherwise the momentum all gets shifted to the other side.”
Finally, a stick-tap to Calgary’s fourth line. That five-on-three happened because they managed to draw two penalties on the same shift. AJ Greer was busted for a hold on John Beecher, then Ryan Lomberg was tripped up as he raced wide around Aaron Ekblad.
Ice chips: Interviewed during the broadcast, Conroy confirmed that defenceman Zayne Parekh will be loaned to Team Canada for the world juniors. “He’s progressing on time and on schedule,” Conroy said of the 19-year-old Parekh, who has been on the injured list for the past three weeks. “We just want to make sure he’s 100 per cent ready to go when he comes back.”
Flames defenceman Rasmus Anderssoncontrols the puck ahead of Panthers forward Luke Kunin.
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