{"id":439435,"date":"2026-02-01T07:32:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/439435\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T07:32:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:32:22","slug":"three-takeaways-as-morgan-frost-shines-for-flames-in-win-over-sharks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/439435\/","title":{"rendered":"Three takeaways as Morgan Frost shines for Flames in win over Sharks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morgan Frost scored the Calgary Flames<\/a>\u2019 first of the afternoon.<\/p>\n

He assisted on the second.<\/p>\n

And while he didn\u2019t officially factor on Saturday\u2019s game-winning goal at the Saddledome, his boss wanted to be sure that Frost\u2019s contribution on that shorthanded strike did not go unnoticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it was still four-on-four, with eight seconds left, Morgan went out and took that draw and won it,\u201d said Flames coach Ryan Huska after his squad ended a string of five consecutive losses with a 3-2 triumph over the San Jose Sharks. \u201cIf we don\u2019t get that draw, pretty good chance we\u2019re staying in our zone and they\u2019re starting their power-play there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting with what Huska described as Frost\u2019s finest performance in the Flaming C, here are three takeaways from Saturday\u2019s slump-buster \u2026<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Flames forward Morgan Frost scores on Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic during Saturday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Frost lifting<\/p>\n

Frost\u2019s stat-line against the Sharks showed a goal, an assist, 10 shot attempts, two penalties drawn and a 15-for-18 mark at the dot, including the successful swipe that ultimately led to Joel Farabee\u2019s shortie in the early stages of the third. That 83.3 percent success rate is a new career-high.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the best that I\u2019ve seen him play since he\u2019s been with us,\u201d Huska said of Frost, who one day earlier marked the first anniversary of his trade to Calgary. \u201cThe faceoff circle, he had pace to his game, he was setting people up, he was scoring goals \u2026 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get that version of Morgan Frost every day, I think you\u2019re pretty happy. He was excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frost seems to be heating up, with three goals over a four-game span. That is big news for what is the NHL\u2019s lowest-scoring outfit.<\/p>\n

In Saturday\u2019s opening frame, he cashed Matt Coronato\u2019s rebound on a five-on-three advantage.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old pivot followed up with a gorgeous cross-ice feed to assist on Matvei Gridin\u2019s tying tally in the second. <\/p>\n

A clear indication of his brimming confidence, Frost also dipsy-doodled around Mario Ferraro on an offensive rush. Ferraro tripped him up as he blew past, sending the Flames to another power-play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to produce, for sure,\u201d Frost said after a first-star showing. \u201cI was definitely going through a rough stretch before and just trying to build it back. I thought tonight was one of my better ones of the year. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s always been the thing with me, though, is keeping it going for a long stretch of time. So I\u2019m not going to be satisfied with that and hopefully continue to play that way for the last two before the (Olympic) break.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Flames forward Matvei Gridin is chased by Sharks forward Alexander Wennberg.<\/p>\n

The real deal<\/p>\n

Gridin is going to do a good chunk of lamp-lighting at the NHL level.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s marker was officially the second of his career, although he considers this to be his first \u201creal goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because his opening-night notch came on a fortuitous bounce off the foot of an opponent. <\/p>\n

This one was a beauty.<\/p>\n

Frost was skating downhill into the left circle, while Gridin showed his savvy by drifting away from his check and finding some quiet ice on the opposite side. His sweeping one-timer was in the back of net before San Jose\u2019s Alex Nedeljkovic could slide across his crease. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a smart play to open up and get available there,\u201d Frost said, praising his rookie linemate. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get our guys to do a better job of using the whole width of the ice and there\u2019s an example of it,\u201d Huska added. \u201cIt\u2019s a pass that goes from one side of the ice over that halfway point, and it\u2019s a one-time shot. There\u2019s no handling it. It\u2019s on and off the stick. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a great example of puck pace and using the entire zone.\u201d <\/p>\n

How did that first \u201creal goal\u201d \u2014 presumably the first of many \u2014 feel for the 19-year-old Gridin, who has now produced three points in seven games since being recalled from the AHL\u2019s Wranglers?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels awesome, not going to lie,\u201d he beamed. \u201cEspecially to tie the game and help the team win, it feels great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Flames defenceman Kevin Bahl battles Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini.<\/p>\n

Extra attention<\/p>\n

Kevin Bahl must have been feeling mighty popular Saturday.<\/p>\n

Everybody wanted a piece of him.<\/p>\n

As Calgary\u2019s best shutdown defender, Bahl was matched up against San Jose\u2019s top young talents in Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.<\/p>\n

He happened to catch both with solid hits, which didn\u2019t sit well with the rest of the Sharks.<\/p>\n

Zack Ostapchuk requested a dance. Ditto for Barclay Goodrow, who was especially persistent.<\/p>\n

In both cases, Bahl declined. He played 24:12 in this matinee, which was more than Ostapchuk and Goodrow combined, so that was certainly the right call. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe understands, against top players, you have to play hard against them and not give them room on the ice,\u201d Huska said. \u201cSo he finishes hits on them, and there\u2019s nothing dirty about it. He\u2019s just in their face a lot. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think he\u2019s also smart enough to know that he doesn\u2019t have to take on anybody and everybody that comes at him. Because we don\u2019t want to lose him in a trade-off that doesn\u2019t work for us.\u201d <\/p>\n

The 25-year-old Bahl shrugged off Saturday\u2019s extra attention as just something that comes with the territory. <\/p>\n

It could be seen as a sign of a job well done.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bonus that he earned an apple on Farabee\u2019s would-be winner on the penalty-kill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get it \u2014 guys want to protect their teammates and stuff like that,\u201d Bahl said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a time and place for it, especially when it\u2019s a dirty hit or whatever. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut in my situation, just keep on making them feel uncomfortable out there and maybe it will throw them off their game, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ice chips: The Flames have recalled rookie blue-liner Zayne Parekh<\/a> after his conditioning stint with the AHL\u2019s Wranglers. Parekh, 19, put up five points in four games in the minors.<\/p>\n

wgilbertson@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Flames forward Joel Farabee celebrates what stood up as the game-winning goal on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Morgan Frost scored the Calgary Flames\u2019 first of the afternoon. He assisted on the second. And while he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[5807,888,895,26,5294,896,5,9296,2338,501,814,2340,6751,4527,4,3292,168,4198,3318,507,500,3326],"class_list":{"0":"post-439435","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-calgary-flames","8":"tag-alex-nedeljkovic","9":"tag-barclay-goodrow","10":"tag-calgary","11":"tag-calgary-flames","12":"tag-calgaryflames","13":"tag-flames","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-joel-farabee","16":"tag-kevin-bahl","17":"tag-macklin-celebrini","18":"tag-mario-ferraro","19":"tag-matt-coronato","20":"tag-matvei-gridin","21":"tag-morgan-frost","22":"tag-nhl","23":"tag-ryan-huska","24":"tag-san-jose-sharks","25":"tag-scotiabank-saddledome","26":"tag-the-flames","27":"tag-will-smith","28":"tag-zack-ostapchuk","29":"tag-zayne-parekh"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115994214675409117","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}