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Calgary Flames coach Huska sends a clear message with latest line combinations

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Oct 20 2025, 4:48 pm
Calgary Flames coach Huska sends a clear message with latest line combinations
Sergei Belski/Imagn Images

Losses are one thing, but Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska is making it clear he won’t put up with poor effort.

Poor effort is exactly what the Flames showed on Saturday night, as they got thumped by the Vegas Golden Knights in a game that ended in a 6-1 loss. While it was an ugly showing from the entire roster, one individual in particular, Yegor Sharangovich, stood out for all the wrong reasons.

Sharangovich has had a tendency throughout his career to play what many deem to be a soft game. He doesn’t like to throw his body around, and often times doesn’t put nearly enough effort into puck battles.

There was a perfect example of that on Saturday night, and it didn’t go missed by Sportsnet analyst Kevin Bieksa, who ripped the 27-year-old during the second intermission.

Bieksa was quite unimpressed at the lack of compete shown by Sharangovich on a play where he chose to let off entirely of what should have been an open-ice check delivered to William Karlsson.

“I would absolutely lose my mind on the bench if I saw that,” Bieksa said.

It seems that Huska had similar thoughts;, based on line combinations at morning skate as provided by Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg, Sharangovich will be watching Monday’s game versus the Winnipeg Jets from the pressbox.

Replacing Sharangovich in the lineup is Justin Kirkland, who has gone pointless through three games this season. The former, meanwhile, has recorded just one assist through six outings.

The decision to healthy scratch Sharangovich doesn’t come as a major surprise. Though Huska didn’t call him out specifically following Saturday’s game, he made it clear that he wasn’t happy with the effort from two of his forward lines, one in which Sharangovich was part of.

“I thought the Kadri, Huberdeau, Farabee line, I thought they were excellent of us,” Huska said. “They had the puck a lot, they were dangerous. To me, they were good players for us … The Zary line with Lomberg and Klapka, I thought gave us a great effort tonight. Two good fights from the guys on that line. We didn’t have much from the other two lines tonight.”

Huska and his coaching staff are likely hoping this can serve as a wake-up call from Sharangovich, who has proven in the past that he is capable of being an impactful player. His frustrations early on this season, however, appear to have him on the outside looking in on Monday, where the Flames will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak.

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