Flames climb back into playoff range with five wins in seven games

The Calgary Flames won five of their last seven games, climbing out of the bottom of the standings after a winless start to the season, the Calgary Herald reported.

Calgary lost its first four games, and the Herald said it looked at one point as though the team might finish October without a victory. Goaltender Devin Cooley took over the net and the results changed, the newspaper said. The Herald's Wilson wrote that the Flames have won five of their past eight since a 1-5-0 start and sit three points back of the final wild-card spot in the West.

Cooley went 4-1-0 in the seven-game segment with a save percentage of 94.98. The Herald said he was named second star of the week, but an injury against the Edmonton Oilers has sidelined him. Dustin Wolf, 1-0-0 with an 89.16 save percentage, won his one start in the segment against the Kraken. Arseni Sergeev was 0-1-0 with an 85.83 save percentage.

The power play also drove the improvement. The Herald said it scored on more than 30 per cent of its chances in the segment, which moved it to the top of the league. Wilson put the season-long rate at 33 per cent, tied with the Oilers for second.

Joel Farabee led the team with 11 points in the period, six of them on the power play. Matthew Coronato had five of his 10 points with the man advantage, and Matvei Gridin, Morgan Frost and Zayne Parekh each had three power-play points.

Gridin has 10 points in 14 games, third on the team, and the Herald said he has the best shot and chance numbers among the Flames. Jonathan Castagna, a 21-year-old centre, has taken many defensive-zone faceoffs. Yegor Sharangovich had one point in the seven games, a goal.

On defence, the Parekh and Jacob Middleton pairing was broken up. Middleton now plays with Zach Whitecloud, a duo the Herald said has the team's weakest shot and chance numbers on the back end and a goal ratio below 30 per cent at even strength. Parekh played with Kevin Bahl against the Kraken, and the pair has a 69 per cent expected share in 29 minutes this season.

The Flames' schedule from Nov. 2 to Nov. 21 includes the San Jose Sharks twice, the Anaheim Ducks twice, the Kraken, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks. Wilson wrote that it is the NHL's softest stretch, though many games are on the road, where the Flames have struggled in recent seasons.