The Calgary Flames play their second-to-last preseason game tonight when they take on the Canucks in Vancouver.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Michael Ferland Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Kris Versteeg - Sam Bennett - Troy Brouwer Tanner Glass - Matt Stajan - Freddie Hamilton
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic Matt Bartkowski - Michael Stone
Mike Smith Eddie Lack
Vancouver
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Loui Eriksson Sven Baerschi - Markus Granlund - Brock Boeser Sam Gagner - Alex Burmistrov - Jake Virtanen Scottie Upshall - Brandon Sutter - Derek Dorsett
Michael Del Zotto - Troy Stecher Andrey Pedan - Chris Tanev Patrick Wiercioch - Alex Biega
Anders Nilsson
Five things to watch:
1) It seems like a good bet Matt Bartkowski will be in the top-6 on opening night. He should not be in the top-6 on opening night. As a whole, he's not very good and he struggles breaking the puck out of the defensive zone, which is not an ideal trait for a partner of Michael Stone. I think Kulak is the much better option and, if Bartkowski struggles noticeably tonight, perhaps the Flames will realize that.
2) The Flames have a regular season game in six days and Tanner Glass not only remains in camp, but he's still playing(!). He struggled immensely in the AHL a season ago and his underlying numbers in the NHL have been horrendous for years. He should not be near a team that plans on contending and it's a little concerning that he still is.
3) Sam Bennett had a down year in 2016-17 and Troy Brouwer being attached to his hip for a good chunk of games is a big reason why (Bennett had a 44CF% with Brouwer, 52CF% without Brouwer). I guess there's no harm in trying them out again in a game that doesn't matter but I have a hard time believing much will be different.
4) This will be the 3M line's first game together this preseason. It'd be nice to see them brush off the dust and pick up where they left off so they can hit the ground running next Wednesday.
5) This is the first real dress rehearsal of the preseason as the Flames and Canucks are dressing lineups that are made up almost entirely of players who will be on the opening night roster. It's still preseason, but things should be kicking up a notch now.
Puck drop is just after 10ET/8MT and can be seen on Sportsnet.
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