Coleman takes fun dig at Flames' struggling power play
The Calgary Flames were able to pick up a big 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Monday night, but there are still major concerns about their game.
The biggest of the bunch is their power play, which dropped to 11.3% on the season after going 0-for-5 versus the Panthers. That ugly percentage is 29th in the league, with only the Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, and St. Louis Blues coming in below.
It is no secret to the players how bad their work on the man advantage has been, as it is talked about nearly every day. Thankfully, their penalty kill units have picked up some of the slack, providing a good chunk of offence as of late, including a goal from Mikael Backlund last night. Afterward, Blake Coleman spoke about the success of the Flames’ penalty kill while throwing a playful jab at the power play.
“Well, we’re not scoring power-play goals so we might as well score [some shorthanded],” Coleman said.
For the majority of the season, Coleman had zero control over the power play as he was on neither group. That has changed as of late, however, as he is now on the second unit, meaning he can no longer rib some of his teammates about the struggles.
“I was, but now that I’m a part of it, I can’t say much,” Coleman said when asked if he bugs his teammates about the lack of power-play success. “I missed an open play to [Noah Hanifin] tonight. It’s just one of those things, we’re working hard on it but it’s not coming. You’ve gotta find offence in other places, and we’ve been able to find some success on the kill.”
“He was great. It looked like he hadn’t missed a beat.”
Blake Coleman stopped by the #Flames TV desk during the @original16beer post-game show following the 3-1 win over Florida! pic.twitter.com/Yh1y6PVuk5
ā Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) December 19, 2023
Coleman himself provided more offensive contributions, scoring the empty net goal with less than two minutes remaining to seal the deal. That goal was an especially big one for the 32-year-old as it helped keep what is now a seven-game point streak alive. During that span, he has collected four goals and five assists, giving him 10 goals and 22 points on the year. The Flames will be hoping he can extend his streak to eight on Thursday night, when they’ll be on the road taking on the Anaheim Ducks.
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