1. New York Groove

They scratch.

They claw.

They’re never out of games.

This year’s Flames team has proven to be a tough out for just about anyone, fighting their way to a 10-6-3 record ahead of the 20th contest of the campaign, tonight on Scotiabank Saddledome ice against the Rangers. TICKETS

Once is a fluke. Five times a trend.

This group’s propensity for comebacks is becoming a badge of honour.

Just ask Blake Coleman, who’s been around long enough – and won enough – to understand the right ingredients to cook up a hearty batch of success.

“It’s just been our recipe as of late,” he said Wednesday. “I guess I could apologize to the fans at home, it’s not the most exciting hockey, but we’re piecing together wins.

“It’s the way we’re going to win, is play tight-checking; maybe that limits a little bit of the offensive upside, but we’ve been strong defensively, and gotten some really good goaltending.”

Coleman recorded his first career 30-goal season in 2023-24, besting his previous personal-best point tally by 16 in the process.

His numbers have dipped slightly this year – he’s on pace for 17 goals this season – but for the Texas Tiger, the points in the standings are much more important.

“I don’t really care, as long as we’re winning games,” he said. “You’re getting points; that’s all that matters in this league, is climbing up the standings.

“Obviously as a forward, you want to help your team produce and maybe make it a little bit easier on yourself to win some games that aren’t 1-0, but you’re not going to sacrifice the defensive side of the game, ‘cause that’s working for us.”

Head coach Ryan Huska was asked Wednesday about the comebacks, about the close games; Calgary’s last eight contests – and 14 of their first 19 this season – have been decided by two goals or fewer.

The bench boss has picked up on a bit of comfortability from his group, when dealing with tense situations in close games.

“If you’re in them, like we anticipate being in them all year, it’s nothing new for us,” he said Wednesday. “I kinda have sensed that a few times in third periods where ‘it is what it is, let’s just keep playing.’ For me, that is the mark of a resilient team.

“You want to play with the lead, for sure, because it’s not easy to come back, and as the season progresses and teams get a little more dialled in as we get further along, it becomes harder to come back in games.

“We want to make sure that we’re finding a way to generate some more offence, to start playing with the lead a little more than we are, for sure.”

One way to generate offence: the powerplay.

It got only one crack Tuesday against the Islanders, but it cracked the code against Semyon Varlamov, thanks to a one-timer blast off the stick of Rasmus Andersson.

A vote of confidence, no doubt.

And according to forward Connor Zary, it meant a lot for the group to find a bit of light, in a facet of the game that’s troubled them this season.

“That’s huge for us,” he said of Tuesday’s goal. “Husk talked to us before the game that our powerplay had to make a difference. We only got one opportunity, and we went out and we scored a goal.

“That’s big for us, and I think we want to carry that momentum forward.”

A second straight test against New York opposition beckons tonight.

Zary and Co. would like nothing more than to exclaim, “I’m Back!”

2. Know Your Enemy

The Rangers come to town in a bit of a fight of their own.

Just four points separate fourth-place New York from first-place Carolina in the Atlantic Division, and it’s been all systems go for the Rangers on their current four-game West Coast road trip.

Jonathan Quick made 24 saves Sunday in a 2-0 shutout win at Seattle, and New York improved to 2-0-0 on the road swing Tuesday by defeating the Vancouver Canucks 4-3. Chris Kreider broke a tie with 9:17 left in the third period, scoring his ninth goal of the campaign to help the Rangers improve to 12-4-1 on the season.

Kappo Kaako, Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad all finished the contest with a goal and an assist, while Igor Shesterkin turned aside 21 shots to earn the victory in goal.

“I thought it was pretty steady, pretty solid,” head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters after. “They’re a good team, they’re going to get some chances.

“I thought defensively we were good, offensively we had lots of good looks, we were pretty consistent with it the whole game.”

New York is in a gruelling run of games, one which sees them play six of eight on the road over a 14-day span.

After this evening’s affair, they’ll head north to face the Oilers Saturday night before returning home for a Monday evening fixture with the Blues.

2024-25 Stats

3. Fast Facts

2023-24 Season Series:

The Rangers won both meetings last season, by 3-1 and 2-0 final scores.

Blake Coleman had the lone Calgary goal against the Broadway Blueshirts in 2023-24, scoring 1:15 into that 3-1 setback Oct. 24, 2023 at the ‘Dome.

After tonight’s matchup, the two teams won’t see each other again until March 18, 2025, when the Flames are scheduled to pay a visit to Madison Square Garden.

Did You Know:

Yegor Sharangovich will celebrate a milestone this evening, skating in his 300th career NHL contest.

Since making his debut with the New Jersey Devils Jan. 14, 2021, the Belarusian winger has scored 86 goals and collected 167 points.

His 86 tallies, by the way, are the third-most of any skater selected in the 2018 NHL Draft (behind Brady Tkachuk and Andrei Svechnikov), a total of 140 players were selected that summer before Sharangovich was picked in the fifth round by then-New Jersey GM Ray Shero.

4. Lineup Notes

Calgary experimented with a couple of different forward looks late Tuesday against the Islanders, and the same trios took the ice for practice Wednesday morning at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Most notable, veteran forwards Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman found themselves on separate units.

Backlund centred a line with Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato, while Coleman manned the wing on a trio with Jonathan Huberdeau and Connor Zary.

Head coach Ryan Huska was non-committal when asked about the new combos, admitting instead that his staff has options with respect to how they employ their forwards against the Rangers.

“I think with Blake, and trying him with Connor and Huby, Blake is sandpaper a little bit,” Huska explained. “He’s a body that will get in the mix and try and free up some pucks for those other two guys.

“With Mikael and Matty Coronato, I find their work ethic is really, really good right now. And I think with Sharan, he complements them with a little bit of skill, but also, he’s responsible with a 200-foot game.

“We’ll see, but it’s an option for us to move forward with.”

5. Players To Watch

Flames – Mikael Backlund

The captain led the Flames with five shots on goal Tuesday night against the Isles, and might well be tasked with setting up shooters Sharangovich and Coronato tonight, if Tuesday’s third period and Wednesday’s practice were any indication.

Backlund’s had considerable offensive success against the Rangers of late, too.

Over his last seven games against New York (dating back to the 2019-20 season), he’s potted three goals and eight points.

Backlund’s next assist, by the way, will vault him into sixth place among career Flames leaders in the category with 337.

Rangers – Will Cuylle

The 22-year-old is off to a torrid start with 14 points on the season, and Cuylle earned considerable praise from head coach Peter Laviolette after the Rangers’ 4-3 win in Vancouver Tuesday night, where he scored, added an assist and registered three hits.

“He’s one guy that you notice banging bodies all the time,” Laviolette told reporters. “So he’s combining offence 5-on-5 with physicality.”

The 6’3″, 212-lb. forward is firing the puck efficiently, too, scoring on 19.4% of his shots on goal.