20240923_Cooley

EDMONTON – Take a bow, Devin Cooley.

That save - and many more from a showstopping Flames debut - will play nationwide on the highlight reels for days to come around these parts.

The Flames showcased their offensive prowess and defensive resilience in a commanding 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, with Cooley and his 44 stops earning the game's first star honours.

Watch all the big plays from the BOA in Edmonton

Meanwhile, in Calgary, the Flames dispatched the Oilers 6-1 in the other half of the split-squad action. Click here to read

Yan Kuznetsov opened the scoring for Calgary just 7:01 into the first period.

Jonathan Huberdeau carried the puck up the ice, threading a perfect pass to Martin Pospisil, whose shot was followed up by Kuznetsov for the rebound goal.

The Flames quickly doubled their lead with a rapid-fire sequence, as Anthony Mantha converted a beautiful pass from Jonathan Huberdeau on a give-and-go 2-on-1.

Huberdeau sets up Mantha's first goal as a Flame.

But as pretty as that tally was, it was a play at the other end of the rink that stunned the masses at Rogers Place.

Yes.

\That one.\

Cooley made a remarkable 'Hail Mary' save, sliding across and throwing his stick to deny Corey Perry on the doorstop.

Wow. Just wow.

By the end of the first period, Calgary held a 2-0 advantage, outshooting Edmonton 11-9.

Cooley continued to dazzle in the second period, making a spectacular series of saves, including three consecutive stops during a chaotic scramble in front of the net, demonstrating that he was firmly on his game against a veteran Oilers squad.

The Flames extended their lead when Rasmus Andersson unleashed a powerful point blast on the power play, with Huberdeau providing the assist.

Andersson's point blast extends the Flames lead to 3-0.

Just over a minute later, Matt Coronato added to the Flames' tally, firing a precise snap shot from the right circle, set up by a clever feed from Kirkland.

Matt Coronato snaps home the Flames' fourth goal of the night.

The Oilers finally broke through with their first goal at 17:17 of the second period, as Zach Hyman, assisted by Connor McDavid, found a way past Cooley.

But the Flames entered the second intermission with a comfortable 4-1 lead, being outshot by the Oilers 17-9 in the frame.

Edmonton struck again early in the third, with Corey Perry capitalizing on a fortunate bounce off a Calgary skate, narrowing the score to 4-2.

However, Coronato quickly responded, netting his second of the night with a beautiful goal, thanks to an impressive spin-around pass from Samuel Honzek.

Coronato converts on a gorgeous feed from Honzek.

Kirkland then got in on the action, scoring the Flames' sixth goal of the night, converting a rebound off a shot from Walker Duehr.

Justin Kirkland makes it a half-dozen in Edmonton.

Connor McDavid added a third marker for the Oilers, wheeling through the middle before firing it home from the hash marks.

Cooley capped off his impressive night with a jaw-dropping splits save to cap a magnificent outing.

In the end, the Flames skated away with a decisive 6-3 victory to improve to 3-0 in the preseason.

The Lineup:

At Calgary:

FORWARDS

Connor Zary - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman

Yegor Sharangovich - Nazem Kadri - Andrei Kuzmenko

Ryan Lomberg - Cole Schwindt - Adam Klapka

William Stromgren - Sam Morton - Andrew Basha

DEFENCE

MacKenzie Weegar - Daniil Miromanov

Ilya Solovyov - Tyson Barrie

Artem Grushnikov - Joel Hanley

GOALTENDERS

Dan Vladar

Waltteri Ignatjew

At Edmonton:

FORWARDS

Jonathan Huberdeau - Martin Pospisil - Anthony Mantha

Sam Honzek - Justin Kirkland - Matt Coronato

Lucas Ciona - Kevin Rooney - Walker Duehr

Clark Bishop - Jaden Lipinski - Luke Misa

DEFENCE

Jarred Tinordi - Rasmus Andersson

Joni Jurmo - Hunter Brzustewicz

Yan Kuznetsov - Henry Mews

GOALTENDERS

Devin Cooley

Connor Murphy

They Said It:

"Proud of the guys"

"We worked really hard as a group"

"Hats off to him"

"I was really impressed and super proud of the group"

"We got to keep doing it game after game"

Up Next:

The Flames head west to take on the Canucks Wednesday at 8 p.m. MT in Abbotsford. You can watch our livestream at CalgaryFlames.com or on the Flames app.

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