It’s a Saturday night, folks, so it’s time for some hockey. But it’s not quite October yet, so it’s time for some pre-season hockey. The Calgary Flames (3-0-1) take their sparkling regulation record back to the Saddledome as they host the Vancouver Canucks (2-1-0), with the Flames looking for some sweet revenge after the Canucks beat them on Wednesday in Abbotsford.
Or something like that?
Either way, bubble players on both sides will be looking to make an impression as the sands in the training camp hourglass start to run low.
This game kicks off at 7 p.m. MT and broadcast on Sportsnet’s national feed and has a radio call from Sportsnet 960 The Fan!

The Flames

It was an optional morning skate without line rushes, so here’s how the roster looks for the game group:
  • Goaltenders: Dan Vladar (starting) and Devin Cooley
  • Defencemen: Rasmus Andersson, Tyson Barrie, Artem Grushnikov, Joel Hanley, Yan Kuznetsov, Daniil Miromanov, Brayden Pachal and MacKenzie Weegar
  • Forwards: Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, Matt Coronato, Martin Frk, Sam Honzek, Jonathan Huberdeau, Adam Klapka, Ryan Lomberg, Anthony Mantha, Jakob Pelletier, Kevin Rooney, Yegor Sharangovich and Connor Zary
Via our pal Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan, sounds like the designated sitters for this evening are Yan Kuznetsov, Tyson Barrie and Matt Coronato. We’ll have lines after warm-up.
It’s the fifth of eight pre-season outings for the Flames, and a veteran-laden group to face the Canucks. We’re curious to see how the young forwards Honzek, Pelletier and Zary can distinguish themselves in such a situation.

The Canucks

Here’s the roster headed to Calgary:
  • Goaltenders Arturs Silovs and Collin Delia
  • Defencemen Carson Soucy, Elias Pettersson, Akito Hirose, Noah Juulsen, Mark Friedman and Vincent Desharnais
  • Forwards Conor Garland, Nils Hoglander, Jonathan Letterimaki, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Ty Mueller, Vilmer Alriksson, Aatu Raty, Max Sasson, Sammy Blais, Tristen Nielsen, Nils Aman and Daniel Sprong
The Canucks have won two out of three, and Flames head coach Ryan Huska noted that he’s hoping to see a bit more pace out of his group – and he noted that Vancouver’s playing style could help bring that pace out of the Flames.