Ryan Huska Wants More From Flames Offence: “You Have to Have Guys Take Another Step”

The Calgary Flames wrapped up their preseason schedule Saturday night with a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the latest edition of the Battle of Alberta.

Calgary finished the preseason with a 1-2-1 record, and averaged 2.25 goals per game, but the coaching staff was looking beyond the results as the team prepares for the regular season.

The Flames showed they can generate chances throughout the preseason, including a strong performance against the Seattle Kraken that pushed the game all the way to a shootout. The bigger question now is whether Calgary can turn those opportunities into more goals.

The Flames scored just four goals over their final two preseason games, making offensive production one of the biggest areas to address before the regular season begins.

Head coach Ryan Huska said the responsibility for finding more offence has to come from throughout the lineup.

“That’s who we are, you think about ‘check first’ mentality, we have that, now it’s about finding other ways to make ourselves known,” Huska explained to the media. “We have to have, in certain situations, people come out of their comfort zones a little bit and help us generate some more offence. You can’t rely on goaltending and just structure. You have to have guys take another step in their game and that’s what we’re looking forward to seeing guys do.”

The Flames have established a clear identity around structure and defensive responsibility. Now, Huska wants to see that translate into more production at the other end of the ice.

For Calgary, creating offence won’t necessarily mean abandoning what has made the team successful defensively. It will be about taking advantage of the opportunities that come from playing the right way.

“I don’t necessarily think we have a young team, so if you play the game the right way and you play the game hard, your opportunities come on offence and then you have to make sure you bury your chances,” said Huska.

The preseason is now behind them. The next step is turning those chances into goals when the games start to count.

For a Flames team looking to take a step forward, that could be one of the biggest factors in determining how the season begins.