How did the Flames fare in Saturday’s World Cup prelims?

After a day off on Friday, the Calgary Flames’ players at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey were back at it today in scintillating pre-tournament action! The big news was that both games were pretty competitive – and entertaining for those of us that chose to flip back-and-forth between them – and that none of the Flames representatives in the tournament were scratched.

How did Saturday treat the Flames in pre-tournament competition?

The Czechs looked much more composed on Saturday than they did on Thursday night, earning a measure of revenge for that contest. Michael Frolik once again lined up primarily with Radek Faksa and Ales Hemsky, though things got jumbled around at times too. Frolik was a difference-maker in this tight game, with the primary assist on late game-tying goal. He played 16:59, including copious amounts of special teams time.

On Thursday, Mikael Backlund was a scratch and Sweden lost. On Saturday, he was dressed and Sweden won. With the Swedes missing Rickard Rakell (who has the flu) and Marcus Kruger (who is injured), they dressed 11 forwards and 7 defenders. Backlund lined up with Carl Hagelin and a rotation of guys on the fourth line. He played 9:42, including over 3 minutes of penalty-kill time, and was -1 with 2 shots. On the Finnish side, Jyrki Jokipakka was on the de facto top pairing with Sami Vatanen. He played 19:07, with lots of special teams time, and had an assist, a minor penalty, and an even rating.

Considering the circumstances, both guys had a pretty solid showing.

Johnny Gaudreau and Team North America – the Rebel Alliance of the World Cup of Hockey – are back in action on Sunday, facing Team Europe at 4pm MT on Sportsnet’s national feed. Come for the impressive offensive showing that Gaudreau is sure to put on, stay for the continual anxiety over his contractual status!

After Sunday, all World Cup clubs have one pre-tournament tune-up remaining before the competition officially kicks off on Saturday in Toronto.