Road Trip Journal - Part I

The Flames are embarking on a five-game, cross-continental road trip that sees the club visit Vancouver, the Sunshine State, and Carolina before wrapping up in Nashville Dec. 2. In addition to the goals, the assists, the hits and big saves, CalgaryFlames.com is compiling a Road Trip Journal to give Flames fans a peek behind the curtain into what goes into a National Hockey League road trip.

In Part I, the team travels from Calgary to Vancouver on the heels of an emotional Saturday night shootout win over the Stars, in preparation for the road trip opener against the Canucks at Rogers Arena.

Saturday, Nov. 22, 10:56 p.m. MT - Johnny Cash blares through the Scotiabank Saddledome speakers after Nazem Kadri's shootout winner against Dallas. It's the second win on the spin for Calgary, and the perfect send-off as the team gets set for its longest road trip to this point of the season. Inside the dressing room, goaltender Devin Cooley passes off the Red Blazer to forward Matt Coronato, as the team quickly packs up and races to the airport to get the trip underway.

Saturday, Nov. 22, 11:45 p.m. MT - Defenceman Rasmus Andersson is the first Flames player aboard the plane after that gutsy 3-2 shootout win over the Stars. Spirits are high on board ahead of the quick flight to the West Coast. At the front of the plane, the coaching staff pores over film in preparation for Sunday’s game in Vancouver, while the players file to the back, grabbing a bite from the snack cart along the way. Coronato - freshly stitched across the bridge of his nose after absorbing a hard hit in the second period - is one of the last guys on the plane, clutching a towel as he quietly, but stoically, makes his way to his seat.

Sunday, Nov. 23, 12:48 a.m. PT - We're down through the clouds and into rainy Vancouver after a 74-minute flight from Calgary, and deplaning is conducted post-haste as everyone tries to stay dry. The players hop onto one bus, the staff onto a second as the team’s equipment gets loaded into a cube truck and driven straight to Rogers Arena. Just before 1:30 a.m. local time, the busses arrive in the underground parkade at the team’s downtown hotel. The players settle in for the night, while the equipment staff heads to the arena to prepare the dressing room for tomorrow’s game.

Sunday, Nov. 23, 10:00 a.m. PT - It’s a much nicer morning in Vancouver. The clouds are mostly gone, the sunshine is out and people are milling around the False Creek area beginning their Sundays. Headed for a quick espresso, the author runs into defenceman Yan Kuznetsov in the elevator as he heads to the team meeting rooms for a bite to eat and a morning pre-scout of tonight’s opponent. At the coffee shop, a staffer from LAFC pores over his phone in front of a breakfast croissant - the soccer club was eliminated in the MLS Cup playoffs last night by the Vancouver Whitecaps. The game - at BC Place, next door to the hotel - drew a crowd of nearly 54,000 fans.

Soccer is big right now in B.C. Outside the stadium, there’s a countdown board ticking the seconds away before Vancouver plays host to matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. A quick glance at the screen shows kickoff is only 199 days away.

Sunday, Nov. 23, 11:10 a.m. PT - "He's a shooter," forward Morgan Frost tells the media, referring to Coronato and his recent run of form. Frost is conducting a media scrum after the team held a quick meeting at the hotel - we're the only people on this conference room floor, and there are individual rooms set up for meetings, treatments, and the team's pre-game meal.

But back to Coronato for a second. He comes into tonight's game with goals in his last four contests, and after his first-period powerplay marker against Dallas, he leads the Flames with eight tallies on the season. As his linemate, Frost knows his job tonight is simple. Just keep feeding No. 27 the puck.

After the morning's meetings and media availabilities are complete, some of the players head into the meal room for lunch, others head back to their rooms. With an early 6 p.m. PT puck drop on tap tonight across the street at Rogers Arena, every minute counts.