Flames Game Day: Let’s play two! A pre-season split squad opener (5pm MT Sportsnet, 6pm MT Flames.com)
By Ryan Pike
1 year agoFans have waited since late May to see the Calgary Flames in action, so why not play twice in one day? A chunk of the Flames’ camp roster heads to Vancouver to play the Canucks at 5 p.m. MT (on Sportsnet TV) and a chunk stay in Calgary to play the the Canucks at the Saddledome at 6 p.m. MT (streamed on the Flames website). You can also catch the action on Sportsnet 960 The Fan!
It’s two games in one night to get the pre-season rolling!
Flames at Canucks
This game starts at 5 p.m. MT and is on Sportsnet TV. The Flames are sending a roster with their fourth line mix of forwards and potential third pairing defenders, while the Canucks are icing a bunch of their high-end regular players.
Projected Flames lines (the White team from Saturday’s scrimmage):
@Milan Lucic – @Kevin Rooney – @Brett Ritchie
@Martin Pospisil – @Adam Ruzicka – @Trevor Lewis
@Jakob Pelletier – @Cole Schwindt – @Matthew Phillips
@Mitch McLain – @Ben Jones – @Adam Klapka
@Martin Pospisil – @Adam Ruzicka – @Trevor Lewis
@Jakob Pelletier – @Cole Schwindt – @Matthew Phillips
@Mitch McLain – @Ben Jones – @Adam Klapka
@Nikita Zadorov – @Nicolas Meloche
@Juuso Valimaki – @Michael Stone
@Dennis Gilbert – @Nick DeSimone
@Juuso Valimaki – @Michael Stone
@Dennis Gilbert – @Nick DeSimone
@Dustin Wolf and @Daniil Chechelev are the slated goaltenders. Our pal Pat Steinberg has Wolf tabbed as the starter on his Twitter feed.
(Wolf was drafted in Vancouver in 2019, so it’s pretty neat that he gets to play in the same arena.)
Projected Canucks lines:
@Andrei Kuzmenko – @Elias Pettersson – @Ilya Mikheyev
@Conor Garland – @Bo Horvat – @Vasily Podkolzin
@Phil di Giuseppe – @Sheldon Dries – @William Lockwood
@Vincent Arseneau – @Carson Focht – @Cole Shepard
@Conor Garland – @Bo Horvat – @Vasily Podkolzin
@Phil di Giuseppe – @Sheldon Dries – @William Lockwood
@Vincent Arseneau – @Carson Focht – @Cole Shepard
@Jack Rathbone – @Luke Schenn
@Danny DeKeyser – @Tyler Myers
@Wyatt Kalynuk – @Jett Woo
@Danny DeKeyser – @Tyler Myers
@Wyatt Kalynuk – @Jett Woo
@Spencer Martin and @Arturs Silovs are the slated goaltenders.
Canucks at Flames
This game starts at 6 p.m. MT and is on the Flames website. The Flames are keeping most of their strong players here, while Vancouver is sending an AHL-skewed roster.
Projected Flames lines (the Red team from Saturday’s scrimmage):
@Jonathan Huberdeau – @Elias Lindholm – @Tyler Toffoli
@Dillon Dube – @Mikael Backlund – @Blake Coleman
@Sonny Milano – @Connor Zary – @Cody Eakin
@Brett Sutter – @Clark Bishop – @Walker Duehr
@Dillon Dube – @Mikael Backlund – @Blake Coleman
@Sonny Milano – @Connor Zary – @Cody Eakin
@Brett Sutter – @Clark Bishop – @Walker Duehr
@Noah Hanifin – @Rasmus Andersson
@Connor Mackey – @MacKenzie Weegar
@Jeremie Poirier – @Colton Poolman
@Connor Mackey – @MacKenzie Weegar
@Jeremie Poirier – @Colton Poolman
@Daniel Vladar and @Oscar Dansk are the slated goaltenders. Our pal Pat Steinberg has Vladar tabbed as the starter on his Twitter feed.
Projected Canucks lines:
@Dakota Joshua – @Jason Dickinson – @Curtis Lazar
@Nils Hoglander – @Nils Aman – @Linus Karlsson
@Tristen Nielsen – @Chase Wouters – @Danila Klimovich
@Arshdeep Bains – @John Stevens – @Marc Gatcomb
@Nils Hoglander – @Nils Aman – @Linus Karlsson
@Tristen Nielsen – @Chase Wouters – @Danila Klimovich
@Arshdeep Bains – @John Stevens – @Marc Gatcomb
@Travis Dermott – @Brady Keeper
@Guillaume Brisebois – @Noah Juulsen
@Christian Wolanin – @Kyle Burroughs
@Guillaume Brisebois – @Noah Juulsen
@Christian Wolanin – @Kyle Burroughs
@Collin Delia and @Michael Dipietro are the slated goaltenders.
Unavailable Flames
A handful of expected Flames regulars aren’t playing in either game:
- Andrew Mangiapane is working his way back from a “tweak” (minor injury)
- Oliver Kylington is on personal leave from the team
- Jacob Markstrom is likely being load managed, as he played 60 games (and playoffs) last season and will probably do that again this season
- Nazem Kadri is being eased into the pre-season after playing until the end of June
- Chris Tanev is being eased into the pre-season after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery
What to watch
In Vancouver, two players are worth keeping an eye on: Jakob Pelletier (#49) and Adam Klapka (#43). Pelletier was superb last season for Stockton and was just fine in the Penticton tournament, but a “fine” NHL training camp won’t get you a roster spot. Meanwhile, the 6’8″ Klapka was really good in Penticton and impressed a lot of people, including head coach Darryl Sutter. How can these two guys look against a fairly NHL-skewed Canucks group?
In Calgary, obviously eyes will be on the shiny new toys, Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar, who were both acquired from Florida. But it’s also worth keeping your eye on the projected third line, featuring a pair of PTOs in Sonny Milano (#15) and Cody Eakin (#50) and 2020 first-round selection Connor Zary (#47). Zary was excellent late in the AHL season after an injury stalled his start to the season, and he was among the best Flames in Penticton.
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