The Calgary Flames opened the 2017-18 campaign the same way they did in 2016-17: with a dud of a performance against the Edmonton Oilers.
Five takeaways from an underwhelming loss on opening night:
1) Everyone expected the Oilers to come out flying -- they're a good team and it was their home opener -- but it was surprising the Flames were never able to find their footing and put up a fight. They bled chances throughout and, frankly, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence whenever they broke through Edmonton's defense and created a legitimate scoring opportunity.
2) This game wouldn't have been remotely close if Mike Smith didn't stand on his head, which is a good and bad thing. On one hand, it was nice for the Flames to remain in a game they didn't deserve to be in because of a stellar goaltending performance (that hasn't happened often in recent years). On the other, it's not exactly ideal to be in those situations, especially when you're a team that wants to contend. Nevertheless, it was still encouraging to see Smith play so well against a team he'll be seeing a lot of moving forward.
3) I was not impressed by the debut of the T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic pairing. I know they're still getting used to playing together, they were facing a good team, etc. but they looked really messy at times and completely overwhelmed any shift they had to go up against Connor McDavid. Glen Gulutzan still needs to hard match the 3M line and Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton pairing vs Connor McDavid if there is any hope of slowing him down, which is not good.
4) Another game, another poor showing from Matt Bartkowski. The Flames were caved in at 5v5 with Bartkowski on the ice (he posted a 35 Corsi For%) and he had a heck of a time breaking out of the defensive zone.
5v5 zone exit numbers for Calgary vs Edmonton. Giordano led the way with nine controlled exits. Bartkowski just four on 14 attempts. pic.twitter.com/tsYw7MQyk9
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) October 5, 2017
There was a real nice mixture of off-the-glass-and-outs, missed outlets, and slappers being held at the line. I don't know how bad Bartkowski has to play for Brett Kulak to take his spot, but he's certainly testing that theory.
5) The Flames simply can't dress a 4th line of Tanner Glass, Matt Stajan, and Garnet Hathaway, especially in a game where they don't control the matchups. They were hemmed in the defensive zone numerous times and created absolutely nothing offensively. I get wanting some physicality in the lineup, but it's probably not a good sign they were completely out-classed by a line of Zack Kassian, Jujhar Khaira, and Mark Letestu.
Recent posts: Predicting the Pacific Division standings