With the playoffs out of reach, the final 15 games of the regular season should give the Calgary Flames the chance to figure out what works.
That could be playing young players. Many hope it is, and they would have been happy to see both Hunter Brzustewicz and Zayne Parekh on the blue line for the Flames in Monday night’s 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
It could mean trying out some line combinations, too.
Recently, that’s meant a lot of Matvei Gridin — who is younger than Parekh and Brzustewicz — playing alongside Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato.
And there’s starting to be some convincing evidence that there might be a spark brewing between the trio. On Tuesday, Coronato broke out of a 15-game goalless streak and picked up an assist on Frost’s first-period marker, which came courtesy of a pretty, heads-up feed from Gridin.
“Griddy’s a great player,” Coronato told reporters post-game in Detroit. “So much skill, really smart. Definitely love playing with him.”
They may very well end up playing together a lot. Coronato is 23 years old, while Gridin only recently turned 20. Frost is the seasoned vet of the group, but he’s still only 26.
All three will likely be around as the Flames emerge from their rebuild and start climbing towards contention again. All three will be relied on between now and the end of the season to hopefully produce some more offence, too.
They did their part on Monday against the Red Wings and looked especially effective when they were skating on the rush. Coronato’s goal was the result of a lucky bounce, but he’s been consistently dangerous over the past couple games and it’s sometimes felt like puck-luck just wasn’t on his side. A little good fortune felt like no less than he deserved.
“Matt’s been around it, it’s just not going in for him,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska told reporters. “He needs to continue to work and continue to play the way he did tonight and he’ll start scoring again more consistently.”
Monday’s loss brings a gruelling five-game road trip that saw the Flames go 1-4-0 to an end. They won’t have much time to rest, though, as they’re back on the ice Wednesday for a game at the Saddledome against the St. Louis Blues.