It could be the final chance to impress for several bubble players in training camp as the Calgary Flames head south to California to visit the San Jose Sharks. It’ll be a lean Flames group facing a fairly veteran Sharks group.
It’s a late one! The puck drops at 8:30 p.m. MT and you can catch the action on Sportsnet 960 The Fan and the Flames social media feeds!
The Flames
Here’s how the Flames line up tonight, and stick-taps to Pat Steinberg for the intel via his Twitter:
Dube-Jankowski-Mangiapane
Quine-Ryan-Rieder
Kirkland-Philp-Robinson
Rinaldo-Froese-Smith Pelly
Quine-Ryan-Rieder
Kirkland-Philp-Robinson
Rinaldo-Froese-Smith Pelly
MacDonald-Andersson
Kylington-Stone
Davidson-Nielsen
Kylington-Stone
Davidson-Nielsen
Cam Talbot will start, but depending on how the game goes the Flames would like to get another look at Artyom Zagidulin. The Flames recalled eight bodies this morning (Zagidulin, Valiev, Nielsen, Froese, Kirkland, Phillips, Philp and Robinson) and waived Jon Gillies. All nine players will be re-assigned to Stockton after the game.
The Sharks
Morning skate lines, via Curtis Pashelka:
Yurtaykin-Thornton-Radil
Meier-Couture-Labanc
Kane-Hertl-Gambrell
Bergmann-Goodrow-M. Karlsson
Sorensen-Suomela-Brodzinski
Meier-Couture-Labanc
Kane-Hertl-Gambrell
Bergmann-Goodrow-M. Karlsson
Sorensen-Suomela-Brodzinski
Vlasic-Burns
Dillon-E. Karlsson
Ferraro-Heed
Middleton-Prout
Dillon-E. Karlsson
Ferraro-Heed
Middleton-Prout
Aaron Dell and Martin Jones are the goalies in camp, but it’s unclear how this game will be divvied up.
What to watch
Saturday night’s game will feature the opening night Flames group, so this is the final audition for the fringe bodies. Can any of them cement themselves on the roster? Bill Peters singled out Dillon Dube and Oliver Kylington prior to the Winnipeg game; can they continue to have a positive on-ice response to their coach’s challenge? And if he gets in, how will Zagidulin look against an actual NHL roster after impressing in stints in the prospect game and earlier in the pre-season?