Post-Game: Dube shines, Flames falter in preseason opener

It’s hard to judge a lot from preseason hockey. Players are knocking the rust off. They’re learning systems. For the Calgary Flames, the majority of their established players are in China. But two things became evident on Monday evening at the Scotiabank Saddledome: the Flames’ systems work is still a work in progress, and Dillon Dube is quite good at hockey.

The Flames lost 7-4 to the Edmonton Oilers, but Dube was easily the biggest story of the night with a hat trick.

Dube kicked things off early, beating Mikko Koskinen with a wrister from the high slot 23 seconds in – it was a decent shot but Koskinen wasn’t square in front of it – to make it 1-0.

But the Oilers responded as the Flames were caught flat-footed after a line change and Evan Bouchard jumped in as the trailer on an odd-man rush, beating Rittich over the shoulder to make it 1-1. Late in the period the Oilers went up 2-1 with a nifty short-handed breakaway goal by Kailer Yamamoto, snatching a puck that had bounced high into the air – Oliver Kylington leapt into the air to try to swat it down but missed. Shots were 11-6 Flames in the first and scoring chances were 6-5 Flames.

Dube struck again early in the second period, using a bad angle shot while straddling the goal line to beat Koskinen – the puck basically bonked in off the goaltender’s backside – to tie the game at 2-2.

The Flames went up a few minutes later when Dube completed the hat trick with a nifty breakout pass from the neutral zone boards from Buddy Robinson; Dube beat Koskinen five-hole to make it 3-2.

But Edmonton answered back late in the period as Ethan Bear scored on the power play with 20 seconds left in the frame (and Logan Shaw in the penalty box for instigating a fight). Shots were 8-7 Flames in the second, with scoring chances 8-2 Flames.

The locals pressured early in the third period but just couldn’t bury anything. Ryan McLeod sprung Yamamoto with a gorgeous pass – finding his teammate at the Flames blueline while standing under his own goal line – and Yamamoto deked out Rittich and went five-hole to make it 4-3 Oilers. Patrick Russell and Pontus Aberg added insurance markers late in the period to make it 6-3 before Andrew Mangiapane answered to make it 6-4. But that’s all the Flames could muster. Russell added an empty-netter with 16 seconds left to make it 7-4. Shots were 15-6 Oilers, scoring chances were 12-5 Oilers.

The Flames looked very much like a mix of AHLers, PTOs and prospects, in the sense that their defensive play was pretty disjointed and a lot of passes in their own end did not find their intended recipient. They just weren’t good enough away from the puck, and it cost ’em.

The other big thing that cost them was the special teams battle. The Oilers scored a power play and a short-handed goal, while the Flames had zilch to show for their special teams time.

It’s gotta be Dube. But Juuso Valimaki and Robinson were also among the better players in red sweaters on this evening.

In an alternate universe, the Flames snuck into the second intermission with a 3-2 lead. In this universe, instead they gave up a power play goal with 20 seconds left in the frame and the Oilers never looked back.

PTO Scott Sabourin fought Oilers prospect Evan Polei in the first. Later in the period PTO Justin Falk crushed Polei with a big hit behind the net, Malone took exception and invited him for fisticuffs and Falk won via takedown. Malone was given the instigator and a misconduct for his troubles. Ryan Lomberg fought William Lagesson late in the second period. Seven seconds later, PTO Logan Shaw took umbrage with Kevin Gravel after a hit in the neutral zone and they also fought – he also earned himself an instigator penalty for his efforts.

“I think in some areas we’re seeing some progress but as you can see, we need to continue to improve in that respect. I think away from the puck, defensively, we have to tighten up obviously. We had some breakdowns late but overall we want to minimize possession in our zone.” – Stockton Heat head coach Cail MacLean on the Flames’ progress with systems thus far.

Get ready for a double-header on Wednesday – albeit with the two games separated by a 12-hour break. First, the Flames head to Beijing to face the Boston Bruins in the finale of the China trip at 5:30 a.m. MT. Then the domestic side of the team heads to Vancouver to play the Canucks at 8 p.m. MT.