The Calgary Flames have stopped waiting for confidence to arrive and started manufacturing it themselves.
Three straight wins have changed the temperature around a team that opened the season with five consecutive losses, and Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Detroit looked like their strongest proof yet that belief is building fast.
Joel Farabee collected a goal and two assists, Matvei Gridin had a goal and an assist, and Devin Cooley made 28 saves as Calgary ended Detroit’s six-game point streak.
The Flames improved to 4-6-0 and have now won four of five since their dreadful 0-5-0 opening stretch this NHL season.
“We’ve just been stacking wins and stacking good play the last couple games here,” Farabee said to reporters Saturday night after beating Detroit. “We just have a little bit of confidence and a little bit of swagger right now that maybe we didn’t have the first five or six games.”
That swagger showed in the way Calgary handled adversity. Farabee opened the scoring at 17:50 of the first period, but Andrew Copp tied it early in the second. Earlier this month, that response might have rattled the Flames. Saturday, they simply returned to work without panic or hesitation at all.
Young Zayne Parekh restored Calgary’s lead on the power play at 8:38, snapping a shot from the point for his first goal of the season. Calgary moved the puck cleanly until Parekh found room, another sign that a once-stagnant unit is beginning to play with pace, trust and renewed purpose.
Ryan Strome made it 3-1 late in the second period, muscling into the slot and finishing Morgan Frost’s pass. Gridin added a power-play goal in the third, giving Calgary a perfect two-for-two night with the man advantage. The goal capped the rookie’s most complete NHL performance to date in Calgary.
“I think we controlled the whole game, to be honest,” Gridin said to reporters. “Play the right way and keep winning.”
The 20-year-old also said the Flames “just enjoy playing together.” Calgary needs that joy from its younger players because their energy has helped turn survival into momentum.
Head coach Ryan Huska saw more than strong goaltending from Cooley. He saw structure, consistency and a team beginning to understand itself.
“I really liked our game again,” Huska said to reporters. “I feel like we’re building right now in the right direction.”
Huska went one step further, calling it “our most complete game or close to it this year.”
The distinction matters. Calgary squeezed out a 3-2 win over Carolina and survived Minnesota 2-1 behind Cooley. Against Detroit, the Flames controlled longer stretches, generated timely goals and defended confidently throughout the night.
Cooley has been the backbone of the streak, stopping 98 of 102 shots across the three victories for a .961 save percentage. His work has given Calgary room to rediscover its offence without fearing every mistake will become a crisis. Confidence is easier to build when the next save arrives.
Farabee has supplied the offensive spark, scoring twice and adding four assists during a four-game point streak.
“We’re just finding how we have to play to win and just trying not to do too much and playing simple,” he said.
Simple has not meant passive. It has meant connected hockey.
The connection was visible on special teams. Calgary has converted six of its past 12 power-play opportunities after starting the season without enough finish.
“When the power play is scoring and things are going their way, they start feeling really good about playing on the ice,” Huska said Saturday night.
“They know they can be difference makers and that’s the phase they’re in right now.”
That confidence spread throughout the lineup Saturday. Farabee called the win “a pretty collective effort from everyone,” while the Flames celebrated goals from four different players and watched five skaters collect multiple points.
Calgary is hardly finished repairing the damage from its start. The Flames remain below .500 and face Toronto on Monday before visiting Edmonton Wednesday. But the conversation has changed. A week ago, they were searching for a foothold. Now they are defending a streak and expecting to win again soon.
“We controlled the whole game,” Gridin said.
Four words would have sounded wildly optimistic during Calgary’s opening skid. After three straight wins, they sound more like a challenge to maintain the standard. The Flames have found their confidence. Their next job is making sure it remains earned every night now.
