Since Calgary Flames president Don Maloney declared to the world that rebuilds are for losers in late November (I’m paraphrasing here), the team on the ice is backing it up, to both the excitement and chagrin of their fanbase.

They are 9-3-1 since the rejection of the rebuild, and visions of playoffs aren’t inconceivable anymore, entering tonight five points back of the last wildcard spot, and three wins behind the Edmonton Oilers.

The Flames also provide an elixir that causes the Oilers to trip up in the regular season: an hour of consistently hard work.

On Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, they pounced on the Vegas Golden Knights early and often, with captain Mikael Backlund scoring twice, and depth forwards Adam Klapka and Ryan Lomberg making a difference in a sound 6-3 victory.

“Winning’s always fun,” Lomberg said post-game. “It felt like the ‘Dome was extra-special today, so it was great.”

How do they do it?

Calgary forechecks relentlessly. They simply don’t go away, and despite the lack of elite offensive talent, they find ways to manufacture goals. Their goaltending has gotten run support, too, with the Flames scoring four or more goals in six of their last 13 games.

Those aren’t gaudy numbers, but considering they’re bottom-5 in the NHL in goals-per-game, it’s impressive they’ve won nine out of 13.

And oh by the way, it’s not the method of playing Dustin Wolf until he breaks down like a rented mule – the Flames have two good goalies, as Devin Cooley has lightened the load on the franchise centrepiece.

Cooley has started 10 games to Wolf’s 26 contests, as the 24-year-old has seen his numbers drop off from a year ago.

In fact, Cooley has a better save percentage (.914 percent) and goals against average (2.40) than Wolf, but obviously with a smaller sample size. In the last 10 games, Cooley ranks as one of the better goalies in the league in Goals Saved Above Expected, according to Moneypuck.

For a cheap off-season signing at a measly $775,000 for the next two seasons, Cooley has paid off big dividends. Wolf got the night off of Saturday, but who starts tonight hasn’t been revealed yet.

Kadri leads the way

Nazem Kadri continues to be the offensive centrepiece, leading the club with 31 points, and showing no signs of slowing down as he creeps closer to 40-years-old than 30. In the month of December, he has 10 points in nine games.

Jonathan Huberdeau is also on a four-game point streak, but his game is still nowhere close to the highs of his Florida Panthers days. Last year, he collected 62 points, his best season as a Flame. But this season, he’s on pace for 50 points, which would be the lowest total with CGY. He is who he is right now.

The will-they, won’t-they question still looms around defenceman Rasmus Andersson, but there’s been so little news about his future. It hasn’t affected his play clearly, as he’s second on the Flames in points with 25, and is trending towards a career year.

I happened to catch his appearance on After Hours after the game on HNIC and thought his quote saying, “It takes two to tango,” was revealing. He remains a top name on hockey website trade boards, but the news out of Calgary has not materialized.

Dangerous PK

In many ways, the Flames are right where they should be. Their underlying metrics in several categories are ranked in the 20s league-wide; they aren’t totally bereft of talent and work hard, and they receive timely saves.

If there’s one area they shine, it’s the penalty kill. The Flames boast an 82.1 percent penalty kill, eighth best in the league, but find ways to score while shorthanded.

Joel Farabee did again for the third time on the kill against VGK on Saturday, tied for the most in the league. Calgary has scored six times shorthanded, also tied for the most in the NHL.

It’s helping – because the power play ranks in the cellar, 31st overall, at 14 per cent. Only the Leafs are worse.

Earlier

This is an intriguing matchup, not only because it’s a rivalry game in the time-honoured Battle of Alberta, but because these teams are diametrically opposed to each other. These teams will go home-and-home with Christmas to cool them off before the rubber match of Saturday, Dec. 27.

Of course, night one of the regular season saw the Flames snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the third period, and winning in the shootout. We hope to see one fewer goalie turnover in tonight’s game…

Notes:

Jonathan Huberdeau recorded his 800th point last Thursday, achieving the feat in 942 games.
Mackenzie Weegar recently eclipsed the 200-assist milestone (201) and joined Anton Stralman (230) as the second defenseman to hit the mark after being drafted in the seventh round since 2005, when the NHL Draft was standardized to seven rounds.
Defenceman Jake Bean is out indefinitely requiring surgery for an unspecified injury. He’s played 16 games this season.
Forward Martin Pospisil hasn’t played a game this season after suffering an undisclosed injury on Oct. 1. Reports are he should be “ramping up soon” and CGY could use him as utility piece, who provided 25 points in his second full NHL season, tenth in team scoring. It can’t be too bad, though, as he’s already been named to Slovakia’s roster at the upcoming Olympics.
Rasmus Andersson was vocal about his Olympic aspirations for Sweden. He was added to Sweden’s roster at the Four Nations last season. If selected, he would follow in his father Peter’s footsteps, who won bronze in 1988 in Calgary, coincidentally.
If nothing else, the video the Flames social media team did of a ten-hour loop of Andersson beside a yule log, was pretty funny.
Matt Coronato has had a rather streaky season, following his 7-year, $45.5 million extension in the summer. Dealing with these newfound expectations though, de does lead CGY with 11 goals.
Flames fans will be watching the World Juniors closely. After playing 11 games with the Flames this season, Zayne Perekh was loaned to Team Canada for the tournament that begins Boxing Day. He’ll be joined by fellow Calgary prospect Cole Reschny.
Overall, in the last 10 head-to-head matchups, the Oilers are 7-2-1 vs the Flames.

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