The Calgary Flames begin preseason play tonight as they will take on the Edmonton Oilers in a pair of split squad games.
Both games are scheduled for 9 pm eastern and will be streamed on CalgaryFlames.com.
Here is the lineup they'll go with in Calgary:
Matthew Tkachuk - Sam Bennett - Troy Brouwer Hunter Shinkaruk - Matt Stajan - Alex Chiasson Brandon Bollig - Dillon Dube - Morgan Klimchuk Eetu Tuulola - Ryan Lomberg - Austin Carroll
Mark Giordano - T.J. Brodie Jyrki Jokipakka - Dennis Wideman Oliver Kylington - Deryk Engelland
Brian Elliott Mason McDonald
And in Edmonton:
Lance Bouma - Freddie Hamilton - Micheal Ferland Chris Higgins - Linden Vey - Emile Poirier Brett Pollock - Matt Bailey - Garnet Hathaway Lauri Korpikoski - Mark Jankowski - Matt Frattin
Dougie Hamilton - Tyler Wotherspoon Brett Kulak - Rasmus Andersson Nicklas Grossman - Kenney Morrison
Jon Gillies Chad Johnson David Rittich
Notes:
1) Matthew Tkachuk will be playing in his first meaningful game as a Calgary Flame (the Young Stars tournament was a tuneup for him). There is a spot for the taking on the wing in the top-6 (or top-9) and it sounds like he'll be given every opportunity to make the team out of camp. He just has to take advantage of it.
2) It'd be really nice to see a strong showing from Sam Bennett at center. If he can handle that role full time the Flames will be very dangerous with a 1-2-3 punch of Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund and Bennett down the middle.
3) Tonight's game in Edmonton will be important for camp invites Chris Higgins, Lauri Korpikoski, Matt Frattin and Nicklas Grossman. The Flames have a ton of guys in camp right now and usually teams don't waste too much time trimming down the roster to a reasonable number. If they don't perform well they won't be sticking around too long.
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