It was an emotional night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, to say the least, on Saturday night. The Calgary Flames played their first game at home against the Philadelphia Flyers and came away with a win as Jonathan Huberdeau played a fantastic game showing shades of his time with the Florida Panthers.
The was a lot of emotion heading into the game as the Flames honoured the late Johnny Gaudreau with a fantastic tribute before puck drop. The building was loud, they cheered Gaudreau’s name, and he got the moment that he deserved. We will never forget what he meant to this team and the city.
Jonathan Huberdeau is back?
The other big storyline of the night was the play of Huberdeau. He had a four-point effort with two goals and two helpers. That was the type of game we have all been expecting since becoming a Flame two years ago. He was engaged on both sides of the puck and showed what he can do offensively when the confidence level is there.
Sure, it has only been two games and the sample size is extremely small considering what we have seen the past two years, but games like this will give us a ton of hope for the future of the team if he can continue to put games like that together.
This may have been Huberdeau’s best game as a Flame, and it definitely makes the team worth watching if he can put together these efforts on a more consistent basis.
Dustin Wolf was sensational
Let’s call a spade a spade: the Flames would have been blown out if it weren’t for the performance Dustin Wolf put together between the pipes. The Flyers peppered Wolf, especially in the first period, but he made all the saves necessary to keep the Flames up in the game. Wolf finished the game with 37 saves on 40 shots. He was simply fantastic, there’s no other way to put it.
It was Wolf’s first game of the season and he delivered in the biggest way. If he can continue to play the way that he did, he is not only going to be in the NHL all season long, but he will deserve to get the bulk of the starts moving forward. It was awesome to see the way he played and how calm he was in the net. He made a plethora of great saves and it will definitely be a boost of confidence for him going forward.
The Battle of Alberta is upon us
The Flames will play their first back-to-back of the season as they travel to Edmonton for a date with the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers have not started their season the way they would have liked to, and it is a bit of a surprise with the way the Flames have started out. The first meeting between the two rivals should be a good one as the Oilers will be desperate to get their first win of the season.
The Flames will have to tighten things up defensively as Connor McDavid will look to finally get going after a very frustrating first two games. Whatever happens, there should be a ton of emotion in the matchup. Let’s see if the Flames can continue the momentum going into Oil Country.
