The Calgary Flames hosted the Vancouver Canucks in pre-season action on Saturday night at the Saddledome. Their meeting was a rematch of Wednesday night’s clash in Abbotsford that saw Vancouver win in overtime.
On Saturday, with a veteran-laden roster accented with some interesting prospects, the Flames played quite well, ultimately besting the Canucks by a 4-2 score.
The rundown
The Flames opened the scoring just over four minutes into the game. Sam Honzek threw the puck into the net-front area from behind the net, creating some havoc. The puck went back to the point and Brayden Pachal fired it on net, with Honzek, Connor Zary and a pair of Vancouver defenders providing screens on Arturs Silovs, allowing Pachal’s shot to find the net to give the Flames a 1-0 edge.
Awhile later the Flames made it 2-0. After an offensive zone face-off win, MacKenzie Weegar chucked a puck on net. It hit a body in front – possibly Kevin Rooney’s – and bounced to Ryan Lomberg, who fired the puck past Silovs to make it 2-0 Flames.
The Canucks ate into the Flames’ lead before the end of the first period off a weird goal. Jonathan Letterimaki fired the puck, with Artem Grushnikov attempting to block it. The resulting contact made the puck flutter into the air, past Dan Vladar and into the Flames net, cutting the Flames’ advantage to 2-1.
The Flames made it 3-1 in the second period just after a power play expired. The Canucks couldn’t quite clear their zone, leading to Pachal firing a puck on net that was deflected by Blake Coleman to give the Flames a two-goal lead.
The Canucks made it a one goal lead later in the period. Nils Hoglander sent Conor Garland and Aatu Raty in against Grushnikov on a two-on-one. Grushnikov got caught in no man’s land, allowing Garland to set up Raty to make it a 3-2 hockey game.
But the Flames pulled away a little later, as Adam Klapka fired a puck from the point that eluded Silovs and gave the Flames a 4-2 lead.
Devin Cooley (for Calgary) and Nikita Tolopilo (for Vancouver) were the goaltenders for the final 20 minutes. The third period was a little chippy and penalty-filled, but the Flames held on for the 4-2 victory.
Why the Flames won
If we’re calling a spade a spade, the Flames dressed a (mostly) veteran lineup and the Canucks largely sent their Abbotsford AHL roster. If you predicted a win for the home side, it wouldn’t have been unexpected.
But give the Flames credit: they battled, they played well in all three zones, and they were the better team overall. It wasn’t a spotless game, but the two goals against were on a weird bounce and a defensive lapse, respectively.
Red Warrior
We’ve gotta give it to Honzek, who was making things happen basically every time he hit the ice. He was superb.
Also standing out for positive reasons: Lomberg, Klapka, Zary and Pachal. The fourth line and third pairing, in particular, made life difficult for the Canucks.
Turning point
The Flames were quite good in the second period and never really allowed the Canucks to inch closer after they made it 2-1.
This and that
Here’s how the Flames lined up:
Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Mantha
Pelletier-Backlund [A]-Coleman [A]
Honzek-Zary-Frk
Lomberg-Rooney-Klapka
Weegar-Miromanov
Hanley-Andersson [A]
Grushnikov-Pachal
Dan Vladar stated in goal, relieved by Devin Cooley for the third period.
The Canucks were generally unhappy with Klapka during this game, particularly for how physically engaged he was. They really did not like an awkward hit on Akiro Hirose in the third period.
Up next
The Flames have an off day on Sunday, then are back in action on Monday when they host the Seattle Kraken.
