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Joel Farabee delivered a crucial short-handed goal in the third period to help the Calgary Flames defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime on Sunday. The goal ended a personal seven-game scoreless streak on breakaways and gave the Flames a much-needed equalizer before Matt Coronato sealed the win in OT.
Farabee Breaks Through on Breakaway
Farabee entered Sunday’s game having gone 0-for-7 on breakaway attempts this season. However, a sharp chip pass from Martin Pospisil during a penalty kill sent him in alone on Flyers goalie Dan Vladar. Farabee beat Vladar with a forehand-backhand move to tie the game.
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The 26-year-old said he had spoken with teammate Jake Middleton about his breakaway struggles beforehand. “Mids and I sat down and talked about it and he said I’m a deker,” Farabee said. “Literally when I got the puck, that’s what was in my head.”
Farabee leads the Flames with seven goals and 10 assists through 18 games this season. Head coach Ryan Huska had high expectations for him at the start of the year. “Joel hasn’t had a lot of success on breakaways this year, so it was a perfect time for him to score his first tonight,” Huska said.
Flames Cope Without Bahl
The win came as Calgary continues to manage the loss of shutdown defenceman Kevin Bahl for the remainder of the season. The team confirmed Sunday that Bahl, 26, requires surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon. He suffered the injury during dryland warm-up before Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
Bahl had been averaging just under 22 minutes per game, making him the team’s top minute-eater on the blue line. In his absence, Calgary’s defencemen stepped up. Zach Whitecloud scored his first goal as a Flame, and Zane Parekh also found the net. Together, they accounted for half the team’s goals on Sunday.
“Bahler was our best player all year and our best defenceman, so losing him is tough,” Parekh said. “You just keep putting your best foot forward for him.”
Cooley Returns Between the Pipes
Goaltender Devin Cooley returned from a five-game absence due to a lower-body injury and stopped 32 shots for the win. He improved to 5-3 on the season, with a 2.71 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
Cooley has attracted widespread attention for his candid post-game interviews. He has spoken openly about the mental challenges of playing goal, including the battle between his conscious and unconscious mind. Pittsburgh Penguins rookie goalie Sergei Murashov, 22, publicly praised Cooley’s honesty on Saturday. “I think most goalies go through something like he’s talking about, but not a lot actually speak aloud,” Murashov said. “Thank you to him.”
Cooley said he has also received private messages from other players around the league. “I’m glad I can do something instead of just play a sport,” he said, “because that doesn’t really make a huge impact on humanity.”
With the victory, the Flames improved to 8-9-1. They also extended their streak of consecutive wins when scoring four or more goals to 62, a run dating back to 2023 that ranks second only to the New York Rangers.
