The Post-Hanifin Calgary Flames are quickly establishing an identity of losing games while keeping the experience entertaining. The brand was only enforced further on Thursday night when the Jets dropped Ryan Huska’s Flames to the tune of a 5-2 score at the Canada Life Center in Winnipeg.
While the result remains less than ideal—the Flames are now 4-10-0 since trading Hanifin—the process was enjoyable to take in. The Flames won the majority of the puck races and maintained their drive to win battles until the final buzzer.
Team: B+
Performances to Like
Andrei Kuzmenko: It’s impressive that Kuzmenko was held to only one assist. The former Canuck constantly generated space, and the puck seemed to be magnetically pulled onto his stick throughout 20:07 of ice time.
Grade: A
Dustin Wolf: An untimely stretch of poor play from incumbent starter Jacob Markstrom, mixed with the solid presence of Dustin Wolf, may start to force some tough questions. The 22 year old rookie had another solid performance on Thursday night, saving 40 out of 44.
Grade: B+
MacKenzie Weegar: A goal and a primary assist. How much more can you ask for? The 30 year old from Ottawa, Ontario, scored his 19th of the season to give the Flames a 1-0 lead and outchanced the opposition 21-17 while on the ice.
Grade: A+
See me after class
Nikita Okhotiuk: A former second round pick in 2019 that was acquired at the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline for only a fifth, Okhotiuk is still a bit rough around the edges. The 23 year old had a tough night. He was beat in almost every area of the defensive zone at various points.
There is plenty of time for the Chelyabinsk native to iron out the wrinkles, and to his credit, he didn’t get scored on. They don’t write outshot 11-17 while on the ice on the scoresheet, but that data is available if you know where to look.
Grade: D
Matthew Coronato: OK is simply not good enough for the 13th overall pick in 2021. With one shot and a -1 goal differential on the night, perhaps it’s time to send the 21 year old down to the AHL Wranglers for a confidence stint.
Grade: C
Reasons to Pound the Table
Scrappy Slovak Martin Pospisil is likely facing a suspension after delivering an elbow to the head of Josh Morrisey in an ugly sequence.
You can argue that Morrisey dropped as the hit was thrown, but Pospisil tends to lead with his elbows. The Flames may be without his services on Saturday when they play the Oilers at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Fellow breakout rookie Connor Zary found himself a healthy scratch on Thursday evening. The Saskatoon Sniper had just a single assist in his previous eight games; a secondary on a Weegar goal against Chicago on March 26.
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