Pre-Season FGD: Hosting The Canucks (7pm MT)

Y’know how the second period of a hockey game is often referred to as the “sandwich stanza,” because it’s the period in-between two other periods? Well, tonight’s game is the sandwich game of the annual pre-season three-games-in-three-nights stretch for the Calgary Flames.

In-between last night’s trip to Denver and tomorrow’s trip to Vancouver, the Flames host the Canucks in a pre-season affair at the Scotiabank Saddledome. After last night’s 1-0 squeaker in the Mile High City, the Flames are probably hoping for another strong goaltending performance…and a lot more scoring.

The game goes at 7pm MT live from the ‘Dome, and can be seen remotely on Sportsnet One and heard on Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Lines from morning skate, via your pal (and ours) Pat Steinberg:

Gaudreau – Monahan – Hudler
Bouma – Carroll Granlund? – Frolik
Agostino – Arnold – Hathaway
Byron – Riley – Van Brabant/Klimchuk

Giordano – Hamilton
Russell – Wideman
Kylington – Wotherspoon
Sieloff – Engelland

Hiller
Ramo

(So we might see a second line of Bouma-Granlund-Frolik and a fourth line of Byron-Shore-Klimchuk. The Flames site projects the second line as Carroll-Bouma-Frolik and the fourth as Riley-Byron-Klimchuk, so we’ll have to see at game time who sits and who doesn’t.)

It’s a much more veteran crew than played in Colorado last night, because it’s a pre-season home game and people are paying money. And Kris Russell gets a rare home pre-season appearance under his belt after seemingly playing every road game last year. The Flames site projects that that Kylington/Wotherspoon pair sits tonight, so good luck to Sieloff and Engelland, I guess…

Per Steinberg: sounds like Hiller plays the full 60 minutes tonight.

Roster information for tonight, per Steinberg:

Goalies: Jacob Markstrom and Richard Bachman

Defense: Luca Sbisa, Yannick Weber, Frank Corrado, Andrey Pedan, Matt Bartkowski and Taylor Fedun

Forwards: Linden Vey, Brandon Prust, Derek Dorsett, Brandon Sutter, Ronalds Kenins, Blair Jones, Sven Baertschi, Hunter Shinkaruk, Brendan Gaunce, Alex Friesen, Carter Bancks, Wacey Hamilton and Jake Virtnanen

If you like talented young players, this is the game for you. Linden Vey! Ronalds Kenins! Sven Baertschi! Jake Virtanen! There are tons of young players dressing for the Canucks – and precious few established NHL bodies, so expect much exuberance and speed, and perhaps a few dumb penalties (because that’s what young players do sometimes). I can’t find any lines in the Twitter abyss, but expect to see a lot of Sutter against the Flames best players.

Given that Bachman is on waivers, I’d expect Markstrom to start.

It’s pre-season, but it’s still a game between the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames can get back to .500 for the pre-season with a win tonight, for whatever that’s worth.

And ultimately, we can see which of the team’s young defenders look out of place in a rotation with the NHL regulars (and which don’t).