What is Blake Coleman’s favourite Christmas movie?
After pondering the question for a moment, the Calgary Flames forward picked Elf.
“It makes me feel good,” he explained. “It makes me feel nice.”
For the Flames, Saturday’s 6-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks should have the same effect.
Reason to feel good.
Reason to feel nice.
A hat-trick of forwards — Coleman, Jonathan Huberdeau and Connor Zary — each finished with a goal and an assist as the Flames hit their holiday break on a high (and high-scoring) note.
Nazem Kadri and Matt Coronato also bulged twine for the hosts. Mikael Backlund sealed the result with a late empty-netter, squashing the comeback bid after the out-of-towners had buried three in a row in the final frame.
Superstar-in-the-making Connor Bedard factored on three goals for the Blackhawks, polishing off Taylor Hall’s saucer pass on a two-on-one rush and setting up Tyler Bertuzzi for both of his markers.
Here are three takeaways from the Flames’ final outing until Dec. 28 …
‘THE SEASON OF GIVING’
What is Ryan Huska’s favourite Christmas movie? National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
As the Blackhawks scored one and then two and then three goals during Saturday’s third period, the Flames’ bench boss must have been at least a little worried that his team may miss out on their two-point holiday bonus and be left with nothing more than a subscription to the Jelly of the Month Club.
The locals were up 5-1 after 40 minutes. With 68 seconds remaining in regulation, it was 5-4.
“It’s the season of giving, right?” Zary quipped after the final buzzer. “It’s Christmas, so we’ll give them a couple goals and let them feel a little bit better about that game.
“No … you never want to come out and play like that, play flat in the third. But going into the holiday break, I think we just forget about that.”
Certainly no need to lose sleep over it, but Huska believes there was a lesson to be learned from that coulda-been collapse.
“You look around the NHL now, there used to be a saying where a two-goal lead was never a safe lead,” he said after his squad improved to 15-11-7. “Now, to be quite honest, it’s three for sure. And today we saw four. Teams come back. There’s a lot of skill. There’s a lot of players that are dynamic.
“I didn’t like the first goal that we gave up in the third period because I thought that opened the door for them. That’s something, for me, for us to learn from. Because we haven’t been in a lot of situations where we’ve been up like that going into the third period. So it’s important that you make sure your first shifts, or that first five minutes, are done the proper way.”
A PRODUCTIVE PAIRING?
What is Zary’s favourite Christmas movie?
“I’m a big Home Alone guy,” he replied. “The first one. The original.”
For two seasons in the minors, one in Stockton and the other in Calgary, Zary was rarely home alone. That’s because he shared a place with Jakob Pelletier.
They don’t live together anymore, but the 23-year-old forwards are spending plenty of time side-by-side as linemates. The way they’re clicking, Huska should be sticking with this combo. They certainly have a better connection than Harry and Marv.
During Saturday’s second period, Pelletier picked up a loose puck in the left circle and didn’t need to shoulder-check before finding Zary with a nifty no-look pass.
Blackhawks blue-liner Alex Vlasic tried to play goaltender, but the shot glanced off the shaft of his stick and still wound up in the back of the net.
Some have wondered whether Pelletier would ever be a regular point-producer at the NHL level, but he’s perhaps started to provide an answer with a goal and three assists in eight games since being recalled from the AHL’s Wranglers.
If he and Zary can help to snap Yegor Sharangovich out of his current slump, the Flames will have discovered another fascinating forward trio.
“I found all night I was coming through the middle and (Pelletier) was able to give me the puck and vice versa, so I think that feels good,” Zary said when asked about skating alongside a guy who he describes as one of his best friends. “Obviously, it’s only been a few games now so you’re still trying to build that chemistry on the ice. We obviously have it off the ice, so just trying to find our games together and be productive and be an impact on the game every night.”
DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
What is Huberdeau’s favourite Christmas movie?
Great question.
The 31-year-old left-winger, after being saluted as Saturday’s second star, had to race to the airport to catch an evening flight back home so we didn’t get to ask.
What we do know is that Flames fans are really enjoying Huberdeau’s highlight reel this December, and you wouldn’t have been saying that around the holiday break a year ago.
In nine games this month, Huberdeau has already popped for five goals and six assists. Against the Blackhawks, he sniped a shortie. He could have potted a pair, except he was Grinched by Petr Mrazek on a penalty shot.
It’s a stark contrast to December of 2023, when the Flames’ highest-paid player was limited to one measly point, an apple on New Year’s Eve.
“For me, the way he ended last season, there seemed to be a little bit of swagger back in his game, and he’s got that again now,” said Huska, who’s found a nice fit with the line of Huberdeau, Kadri and Martin Pospisil. “I think he’s enjoying who he’s playing with right now. And I feel like probably more so for him, he feels like he can impact a game again the way he knows that he can.
“What I like about him over the last couple of years is he has really committed to his play away from the puck. I think he’s a really good all-around player now and it’s nice to see him get rewarded again with some points because that’s important for him, as well.”
On Saturday, after some determined board work by Coleman on a first-period penalty-kill, Huberdeau took off like he was going for a new amateur recreational saucer sled land speed record — you need to be a Christmas Vacation fan to appreciate that reference — and capitalized with a slick move to his backhand.
“He’s just got his swagger back,” Coleman said as his buddy hustled for the airport. “I didn’t know he had the turbo button like that on the PK. He just left me in the dust. It’s fun to watch. You can tell he’s feeling it. He’s making really strong plays.
“It’s the Huby that, I don’t want to say we expect, but we know he’s capable of playing this way and our team becomes a much more dangerous group when he’s playing like this.”