FGD 1: The season begins in Vancouver (8pm MT, SN West)

The Calgary Flames (0-0-0, 0 points) kick off their 2018-19 regular season in a familiar way, facing the Vancouver Canucks (0-0-0, 0 points) at Rogers Arena. These teams are old friends, having faced off several times over the years in key games so why not begin the hockey season with another round of this rivalry?

The puck drops at 8 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West (and the other national feeds) and Sportsnet 960 The Fan. Dave Randorf and Louie DeBrusk have the call on the TV side tonight.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Mike Smith starts in goal, backed up by David Rittich. Tonight’s healthy scratches are Dalton Prout, Curtis Lazar and Garnet Hathaway.

Dillon Dube and Juuso Valimaki make their National Hockey League debuts, while Elias Lindholm, Derek Ryan, James Neal, Austin Czarnik and Noah Hanifin make their Flames debuts.

The Flames’ power play was a big emphasis both during the off-season and the preseason, and its success may be the key to overall season success for the club. If they get their puck-handling mojo working early this season, it could be huge for them.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Jacob Markstrom starts for Vancouver, backed up by Anders Nilsson. The healthy scratches appear to be Alex Biega, Ben Hutton and Tim Schaller.

The Canucks begin a Sedin-free existence with a roster that’s all over the place. There’s young guys, old guys, and guys that are somewhere muddling around in the middle. It’s not contention or a rebuild, so it’s hard to know what exactly to call it.

The Flames are healthy.

The Canucks are missing Antoine Roussel (IR).

This is the first of four meetings this season between these clubs. The Flames won three of their four games head-to-head last season.

Your Canucks Twitter follows for tonight: