Klapka, young Flames have opportunity to grow as season winds down

LOS ANGELES — One of the things that matters most for the Calgary Flames between now and the end of the season is that there continues to be growth.

Growth amongst the youngsters who will be given increasing opportunities to prove they can be part of the solution moving forward.

Which brings us to Adam Klapka.

He moves very well for a big man and has the hands to work his way up the lineup.

However, it has seemed in the past that every time he impresses enough to get a top-six role, he regresses.

At some point, it feels like he’ll be able to contribute more offensively, as the six-foot-eight, 235-pound winger has a nose for the net and causes havoc once he gets there.

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg saw plenty of him Saturday, as Klapka had seven shot attempts and created several good chances in a game the Flames wound up losing 2-0.

So impressive was the big man that he was promoted from the fourth unit to Nazem Kadri’s line as the team pushed for a late equalizer that never came for the league’s lowest-scoring squad.

“I thought Adam was good,” said Ryan Huska, whose club fired 29 shots on goal in the team’s first game in five years without a penalty called. 

“The one thing he did tonight was go to the net a lot. Whether it’s the shot attempts or him just being around the net, I think he gives us the ability to generate, which we were looking for tonight. So we moved him up because we thought Nas was creating on his own a little bit. But having someone go to the net to create a little bit more traffic there for him might help us generate a goal.”
It didn’t, but Klapka’s energy and presence represented the sort of positive the team will continue to seek out in the final 24 games of what will be their fourth-straight season without playoffs.

“The main thing for me is to stay consistent,” said Klapka, 25, whose coach has drawn comparisons between him and Washington’s 30-goal behemoth, Aliaksei Protas.

“I think I’m more consistent than I was last year and at the start of the season. So I just want to keep going.”

These games will give him that chance, especially if the team trades Blake Coleman or another forward by Friday’s deadline.

Klapka nearly tied the game with 11 minutes left when he converted a brilliant centring pass only to have it bounce off Forsberg, who never saw the puck.

“I don’t think he knew how he saved,” smiled the personable Czechia forward.

“I hope it’s gonna bounce my way one time and be a goal, but I just have to stay patient and keep working,” said Klapka, who has five goals and 12 points while dishing out a steady diet of hits on the fourth line.

On Saturday, his game-high seven hits accounted for more than a third of the Flames’ total.

Matvei Gridin was also fairly prominent, adding seven shot attempts of his own on a line with Morgan Frost and Blake Coleman that has promise. The 19-year-old AHL all-star is here to stay with the big boys moving forward, showing with increasing regularity that he fits in just fine alongside NHLers.

In a tight, low-event game in which Dustin Wolf’s 35 saves made him the team’s first star for the second straight game, the Flames trailed 1-0 going into the third period. Gridin saw ice time in the final three minutes as the team pressed for the equalizer.

Zayne Parekh played 15:28 and made the defensive play of the game with a diving stick check that broke up a centring pass on a two-on-one Alex Laferriere would otherwise have buried to open the scoring.

It will be interesting to see if Parekh plays Sunday in Anaheim, as Huska has spoken openly about having a schedule laid out for the 20-year-old defenceman that would protect him from the rigours of this month’s schedule. The game, which will be the Flames’ third in four nights, would otherwise see Brayden Pachal draw back into the lineup.

Devin Cooley will no doubt get the start.

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