The preseason is officially half over, and the Flames are starting to ice a team that more closely resembles the team we’ll see on opening night. Tonight’s roster included Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Jacob Markstrom, among other Flames regulars.
On the other side, it was the same story, as the Canucks iced a veteran lineup that included J.T. Miller, Conor Garland, and Thatcher Demko.
This was easily the best game the Flames have played so far in the preseason. Blake Coleman was a late scratch and we still don’t know why he didn’t play in this game, but that allowed the line of Gaudreau, Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm to be reunited, and they were simply sensational.
On multiple occasions, they played pass in the offensive zone with ease, hemming the Canucks in for minutes on end. Gaudreau scored the first goal of the game off an incredible tic-tac-toe play from Tkachuk and Lindholm.
The Flames extended their lead to two with a truly wonderful play early in the second period.
This is the Nikita Zadorov content everyone wants to see. He lays an absolutely crushing hit, Mikael Backlund collects the puck, and rips it by Demko. 2-0 Flames.
The Canucks did get one back on a tally from Jonah Gadjovich, but that’s as close as they would get. The Flames sealed the deal in the third period, first off a Connor Mackey goal that went in off Nic Petan‘s stick, and then a Brett Ritchie empty netter.
Dustin Wolf replaced Markstrom for the third period and looked great in goal. He had a mini shutout making seven saves, several of which were excellent stops, and helped kill off a minute-long 5-on-3.
Game visualisations below.
Game events
All situations corsi
5v5 corsi
Shifts
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