Nose For The Net
Connor Zary has made a habit of scoring in his season debuts.
Last night’s powerplay tally in Edmonton marked the third consecutive season in which Zary has lit the lamp in his first NHL contest of the campaign.
He scored on his debut in 2023 against the Stars, then tucked home that dramatic overtime winner here in Vancouver one year ago today.
But there’s a commonality to all three of those markers: they came in the environs of the blue paint.
“It’s definitely something I pride myself on, trying to get to the net,” the forward said Thursday. “Obviously, the puck’s got to get there eventually to get in the back of the net.
“So, any time you get in there, get under guys and get close to the goalie and create havoc and find those loose pucks, that’s part of my game and something I pride myself in being good at.”
If last night’s game in Edmonton was any indication, it’s that pucks on net are always a good thing.
And having a net-front presence will only help Calgary’s goal of coming home with a 2-0 record, according to the head coach.
“We were not generating as much as we would have liked to last year, one of the big reasons for it was not (being) hungry enough, hard enough in front of goaltenders,” Ryan Huska explained Thursday. “And with Demko tonight, if he’s going to see pucks that are coming at him, if he’s going to not have to deal with second and third, opportunities from our guys being hungry to get there, then it’s an easy night.
“So if we want to generate more, we have to get there. And I don’t think it’s any secret that teams that go to the net hard are the ones that score the most goals, so we expect that out of our players tonight.”