Connor Zary dragged a struggling squad into the fight but Calgary fell 4-3 to the Dallas Stars
In a nutshell, Connor Zary did not just make his NHL debut. He pulled the moribund Calgary Flames into the fight.
That’s the good news for the Flames.
The bad news is two-fold. The fact it took a 22-year-old forward to be that difference maker is indicting. And, despite a solid first 19 minutes and outstanding third period by the club, it still resulted in a loss, a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars that extended Calgary’s skid to six consecutive games and with a 2-7-1 record.
Here are three other thoughts from Wednesday’s clash in which you could actually feel the fans renewing faith in a club that took a step forward.
The Zary effect: Zary, the 2020 first-round pick, opened the scoring on his third shift. "I just remember looking around, just happy as can be, just screaming! It was pretty cool,” he told the media afterwards.
The impact went well beyond that. Zary drove the play, carried the puck, wanted to be creative, went to the net. Basically, he showed the rest of the players what confidence in yourself can achieve, and the Flames followed suit, especially his linemates Nazem Kadri (six shots on goal, two assists) and Yegor Sharangovich (three shots).
Zary also came within a whisker of scoring a video game-style goal when he went coast-to-coast and split the defenders via toe-drag that but couldn’t convert to tie the game in the third period.
“He played with confidence, he played with courage, and he was one of our better forwards tonight for sure,” coach Ryan Huska said. “He had an impact.”
Granted, the trick for Zary will be to duplicate his effort repeatedly, but at least the Flames as a whole were rekindled.
Glaring final-minute gaffes were the difference: Jamie Benn scored short-handed in the final minute of the first period, a comedy of errors because the Flames were caught changing when the Stars sent the puck down the ice, but the puck lost all momentum in the corner, which left goalie Jacob Markstrom unable to play it.
Then, Mason Marchment scored with 12 seconds remaining in the second period when he finished a rush that started with Chris Tanev caught up ice, Noah Hanifin failing to block a pass that went through the wickets and Sharangovich guessing wrong who to defend.
Two goals because of costly miscues, how things pan out when a team is either under-performing, destined to be at the bottom of the standings or both.
A Coronato question: Rookie Matt Coronato was put at center on the fourth line and it was a plan that misfired. Would Huska be willing to put Coronato and Zary on a line together with Kadri? The coach liked the impact of Sharangovich on the Kadri’s line, but Calgary’s fourth line was absolutely crushed by the Stars. Expect the line blender to remain in use, especially while Dillon Dube and Adam Ruzicka are injured.
As for Coronato, who has one goal, one assist and a minus-9 rating in 10 games, he continues to generate chances and shots, but he and the club need production if he is not defensively sound. Calgary's injury situation won't allow it, but at some point Coronato may be best served with a stint in the minors if his confidence starts waning.