Flames head coach Ryan Huska believes team deserved better result against St. Louis Blues

After a couple of losses in a row, Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska was not happy about it; the Flames put forth an effort that made him feel a little better.

Despite the 5-3 loss to the Blues, most of the post-game media quotes from both the players and the coach were about the strong push the group had and the importance of it despite the result.

When the Flames play bad, Huska will make it clear in the post-game press conferences. But, against St. Louis, he doesn’t believe the result was indicative of the team’s effort.

“I thought for the entire game, I liked the way that we played tonight. It seems funny when the score ends up 5-3, but I didn’t feel like it was that kind of game. I thought we deserved a better fate here tonight.”

After the Flames lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, I wrote my usual piece recapping the post-game media availability with Huska. The quote I chose was about very little “connection” between the players in the first period against Chicago because that caused Calgary to give up two goals in the first period, which they would not be able to come back from over the course of the game.

The good news is against the Blues, the Flames did not have much of that same problem, and Huska was, once again, pleased with the effort he saw in that regard.

“Much better from a connection standpoint with our forwards and defencemen,” Huska said. “I thought we did things that we normally do, and that’s what you have to continue to see because you give yourself a chance to win. I thought we gave ourselves that chance tonight.”

At this point, giving yourself a chance to win is all you can ask for. It means the team is playing the game hard, and outside of maybe a couple of bounces or straight-up not executing (which needs to change but can also come consistently with more time and coaching), there is a full effort being provided to the fans who have tuned in to watch, even when the playoffs are out of the picture.

Huska is also known for being relatively blunt in his post-game media scrums, and he, in his quiet, Huska way, did criticize the call that overturned Andrei Kuzmenko’s potential hat-trick goal on a high stick.

“I think he made a wrong call, but he’s trying to do it in real time,” Huska said. I would rather see them let it go. If the other team deems it to be a missed infraction, then they can challenge that, but it happens. The game is fast, and those guys have to make decisions in real time.”

Essentially, instead of the Blues having the option to challenge for a high stick, Huska said that due to the call on the ice being no-goal from the start, he was not able to challenge the ruling.

The Flames managed to create a solid flurry of chances during the third period, but Blues goaltender Jordan Binningotn made some fantastic saves that inevitably prevented Calgary from tying the game or even taking the lead.

So, despite the loss, it’s safe to say that the Flames head coach is proud of his team’s effort and willingness to try and fight back. At this point in the season, it’s about having a consistent effort no matter the stage of the game, and the Flames showed that on the road in St. Louis. Now, the hope is that it will be a mainstay for the final 10 games of the 2023-24 season.