Sharangovich finds his groove and helps ignite Flames

CALGARY – It’s not often you go from healthy scratch to the top line, but that’s what Calgary Flames coach Ryan Huska did with Yegor Sharangovich three weeks ago and it’s paid off for both the player and the team.

Sharangovich scored twice and added an assist on Monday as the resurgent Flames kept rolling with a 7-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary’s third win a row.

Since that change on Nov. 18 in which Sharangovich joined Nazem Kadri and Joel Farabee, that line has been producing and Calgary’s been rolling, going 7-3-1 over that 11-game span.

“Not the start that he wanted to have, but he’s got a skill set, and that’s something that we miss at times on our team, is someone that has the ability to help generate offence, whether it’s setting a play up or scoring goals, and he wasn’t doing a lot of that early in the year,” said Huska.

At the time of the change, Sharangovich had four points (two goals, two assists) in 16 games and was a minus-10. In addition to being stuck in the press box four times, he had also spent time on the fourth line.

“I’ve talked a lot about the connection that Joel and Naz have together, they play well, and they needed somebody that could make a play with them, was also a shooter, and was a guy that could be a threat for us when he’s on the ice, and he’s fit in very well there.”

In the 11 games since, the 27-year-old Belarusian has seven points (including four goals) and is a plus-4.

“He’s been a good player for us since he’s been put on that line,” said Huska.

“I think he’s feeling or understanding that if he goes to certain areas, he’s going to touch the puck more right now, and I think he’s really committed to being a harder player on the walls and the battles in all those different areas, because he does know that if he finds a little bit more in that category, he’ll have the puck more, and when he does have the puck, he can make things happen.”

For Sharangovich, who is in the first year of five-year, US$28.75 million contract extension signed after he scored 31 goals in 2023-24, one of the knocks on him has been his unwillingness to play physical and get to the hard areas like the front of the net.

But he’s been going to the net more lately and the opening goal against Buffalo 9:54 into the first period was a prime example.

While Sharangovich was positioned right in front of goaltender Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen, MacKenzie Weegar’s wicked rising slapshot hit Sharangovich in the arm and deflected into the net.

“Nice shot by Weegsy, almost killed me,” said Sharangovich with a smile. “But good rebound.”

His goal on Saturday also came from the top of the crease.

“This year I think most goals I have are from the front of net, and when you go hard to the net, good things happen.”

That change in his game has been noticed.

“Sure, he gets a fortuitous bounce, but he’s there. He’s a presence in front. It goes off of him, he gets rewarded,” said Kadri, who had a goal and two assists.

Since that line was formed, Kadri tops the team with 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) over those 11 games while Farabee has chipped in eight points (five goals, three assists).

“It’s funny, because a lot of times you feel like you’re doing the right things, and nothing, you just can’t catch a break,” said Kadri. “We’ve stayed consistent, and now we’re starting to get some puck luck as well, which is great to see. It’s very relieving for scorers. It’s always nice to see the puck hit the back of the net, especially with some nice plays.”

Rasmus Andersson, Jonathan Huberdeau, Yan Kuznetsov, and Mikael Backlund, into an empty net, also scored for Calgary, who are back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Detroit Red Wings.

Dustin Wolf made 24 saves to win his third straight start since getting back between the pipes after watching backup Devin Cooley start three consecutive games. Wolf improved to 9-12-2.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2025.