3 gains from steal losses with the Oilers in split match – Hockey Writer – Calgary Flame

Calgary’s Flames played one of the first two preseason games against the Edmonton Oilers in Calgary on Sunday. They lost with a 3-0 shooting percentage, with three different oilers scoring three goals. Here are three gains from last night’s game and how they impacted the Flames’ training camp decision.

Devin Cooley still has a long way to go

While the Flames have a starting goalkeeper (2024-25 Calder finalist Dustin Wolf), they have problems with backups in the net – even the best goalkeeper can’t play 82 games per season. For now, the second string competition is between two goalkeepers who signed a two-way NHL deal: Devin Cooley, who started last night’s game in Calgary, while Ivan Prosvetov started in Edmonton. While a game’s sample size is too small to make a clear judgment on any player, Prosvetov’s performance is much better than Cooley’s, especially considering the game.

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In Calgary, the Flames started most of the “A Team”, while the team sent by the Oilers were mainly prospects, American Hockey League (AHL) middleman and trial players. In Edmonton, the opposite is true – Prosvetov made increasingly dangerous shots with a more serious defensive percentage, but he saved 28 in 30 (.933 savings percentage) while Cooley had 26 out of 29 (.896 SV%). Curly’s reaction was also slow, and the first goal he allowed was very rough. He failed to seal the gloves, and when the puck hit him but didn’t stop, one puck slowed down and brought Edmonton up 1-0.

Again, this is the first game of the players this season, especially the goalkeepers, and we shouldn’t be too hasty to make judgments. But if there is a conclusion that can be drawn from their results, it is that Prosvetov takes an earlier step towards his competitors.

Flames need to be shot more

Sometimes the flame looks really good. Often, they have a lot of movement and control, especially in offensive zones and power games, and when Zayne Parekh is on the ice, they do it in double shape. Arguably, even the best hockey sport doesn’t mean that the team won’t shoot anything.

The flames of this game were only 20 goals, most of them in the first and second stages. Their offense completely dropped in the third stage, when they only made five shots and were completely overtaken by the Oilers. In addition, they had almost no danger in almost all of their games except for the first-cycle threat of Nazem Kadri, while the Oilers goalkeeper saved the threat, the second time being a brief high-distance sequence.

The flames need to be able to produce an offense close to the net and make serious passes through the opponent’s defense. The time for the perimeter pass and the continuous attacking zone can be interesting, but the only way to score is to get the puck through the goalkeeper, which will require someone on the team to shoot the puck.

Nick Cicek is the sleeper lineup

While the Flames defense team is logjam on the right side, their left side is wide open, and hopeful people are fighting for the NHL roster. Nick Cicek is such a promising man who signed with Flame on July 1 to reach a one-year two-way contract. Cicek is a 25-year-old unsigned left-handed defensive player who participated in the 2024-25 season with Adler Mannheim of Deutsch Eishockey Liga (DEL). He used to play for the San Jose Sharks in the NHL but was sent to their AHL branch after 16 games.

While the player who hasn’t cracked the Sharks recently doesn’t seem like an inspiring choice, Cicek will certainly prove that he hopes to have a chance to prove his growth in this game. He’s been throughout the game, and it’s easy to keep up (and occasionally surpass) with his partner Rasmus Andersson, fined, and even quarreled with Oilers Connor Clattenburg (from ‘The Most Controversial Edmonton Oilers’ prospect?‘Edmonton Magazine, August 25, 2025). He managed to play a simple, well-structured game, and while he didn’t get any reward for it, he didn’t seem out of place. It’s early, but if he keeps playing at this level, he’s likely to start the season with the flames.

What’s next for the flame?

The flames’ boring offense and poor goalkeeper performance were disappointing. Their next game is against Seattle Cleken on Tuesday. With the courage they demonstrated, led by Cicek, they have the potential to improve their preseason performance.