The rookie then went out and buried an absolutely gorgeous shot into the top corner before casually \u2013 on \u2018non-chalantly\u2019, as he described it \u2013 skating down the ice to celebrate with his teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s calmness or, I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s another level from calm,\u201d Huska said. \u201cWe talk a lot about players on the bench when the next one counts or it\u2019s on the line. A lot of guys won\u2019t turn around and look at the coach. He did tonight, that shows a lot about \u2018I want to go, put me out there.\u2019<\/p>\n
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Fans cheer as Matvei Gridin skates past after his shoot out game winning goal against the St. Louis Blues during NHL action at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.Gavin Young\/Postmedia<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something (Nazem Kadri) used to do a lot. Joel Farabee does that a lot right now so he\u2019s moved himself up because he\u2019s scoring<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a young 20-year-old to look and say \u2018Hey, I\u2019m the guy who can finish this\u2019, that\u2019s a pretty impressive thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Gridin buried a shootout goal in pre-season, Wednesday\u2019s winner was officially his first regular season shootout goal. He was stopped in the Flames\u2019 first game of the year against the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> and then hit the post on March 1 against the Anaheim Ducks.<\/p>\n Neither of those could be considered bad attempts, though, and his wicked shot release means he\u2019s going to be getting lots and lots of shootout attempts throughout his career.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it bugged me (hitting the post against the Ducks, but I obviously thought about it, especially hitting the post,\u201d Gridin said. \u201cI guess you can\u2019t score all of them. Now, I\u2019ve got a better percentage, so that\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n Gridin\u2019s emergence has made him one of the big good news stories of the Flames season. Selected 28th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, he earned a place on the NHL roster after an impressive training camp. He spent a few months in the AHL with the Calgary Wranglers getting a little more seasoning, but he\u2019s firmly established himself as a full-time NHLer since returning to the Flames in mid-January.<\/p>\n Shootouts are only a very small part of that. The Flames have him playing on a line with Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato these days, and the early returns on the trio have been positive.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he was pretty confident from Game 1,\u201d Frost said with a smile. \u201cAll joking aside, a little bit, he looks comfortable but he does some stuff out there that not many guys can do. It\u2019s a treat to play with him, he makes some really skilled offensive plays.\u201d If a guy knows he can do that, why wouldn\u2019t they let their coach know they want the puck on their stick?<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t tell him to put me in,\u201d Gridin clarified. \u201cI just gave a look because I thought I\u2019d go. I went last time. I was 95% sure that he\u2019d put me in, so I gave him a look and he said \u2018Yeah, go\u2019, \u201c<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s shootout winner was just one of them. Watching the shot that Gridin fires past the Blues\u2019 Joel Hofer, it\u2019s hard to imagine how any goalie would stop it. Gridin patiently waits for his chance and then rips the puck right into the top corner.<\/p>\n