Pre-Season FGD: Welcoming the Jets (7pm MT, Flames.com stream)

The arduous journey of eight pre-season games with nothing but jobs on the line finally reaches its conclusion for the Calgary Flames this evening. In their eighth and final game, they host the Winnipeg Jets, who beat them 3-2 in Manitoba on Wednesday evening.

The puck drops just after 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet 960 The Fan (radio) and the Flames website (streaming video).

Lines, courtesy Pat Steinberg:

Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Dube – Backlund – Mangiapane
Kirkland – Gawdin – Ritchie
Lucic – Froese – Duehr

Hanifin – Andersson
Valimaki – Tanev
Kylington – Gudbranson
Zadorov – Stone

Jacob Markstrom starts, backed up by Dan Vladar. Not dressed, but still in camp, are Adam Werner, Connor Mackey, Johannes Kinnvall (injured), two of the defensemen (potentially Nikita Zadorov and Michael Stone), Blake Coleman (suspension), Connor Zary (injured), Tyler Pitlick (injured), Brad Richardson, Trevor Lewis and Matthew Tkachuk.

It’s the last pre-season game, and the last chance for a few auditioning Flames to make an impression.

Lines, courtesy Ken Wiebe:

Connor Hellebuyck starts, backed up by Eric Comrie. Blake Wheeler and Josh Morrissey get the night off, and the Jets roll with seven defenders and 11 forwards this evening.

As previously mentioned, some auditions will come to a conclusion this evening. With that in mind, keep your eyes peeled for Oliver Kylington, Glenn Gawdin and Walker Duehr. I doubt Duehr opens the season in Calgary but he’s made a great case for himself as a call-up. And Kylington and Gawdin are both waiver eligible, and given their exhibition prowess and low cap hits, both could be on somebody’s NHL roster next week – at this point, it might as well be Calgary’s.