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On Mangiapane, Andersson, Backlund and more |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
A few Calgary Flames thoughts:
1) Dillon Dube is getting all the headlines but I think Andrew Mangiapane has sneakily had a fantastic preseason. He has been a better shot/chance generator and the Flames have drastically out-played their opponents with him on the ice – much more so than with Dube.
This is not a knock on Dube – he has been impressive – but rather an endorsement of Mangiapane. Drop Dube's shooting percentage from 40 to 13 (Mangiapane's number) and I think we're having a much different conversation right now.
2) Rasmus Andersson looked good against the Canucks. He moved the puck well and was really confident making plays. I thought he was effective quarterbacking power plays – he moved the puck quickly/accurately – and liked the assertiveness on a couple of his rushes, including one that led to Calgary's 4th goal. He certainly didn't hurt his chances of making the team with that performance.
3) In ~2 shorthanded minutes together, the Mikael Backlund/Michael Frolik duo was not on for a chance against. They actually generated a pair and converted one into a goal. Something tells me Backlund will enjoy spending more time on the kill with Frolik this year.
4) It's hard not to be excited with what we've seen from Austin Czarnik thus far. He has played up and down the lineup and looked dangerous regardless of who he has been riding shotgun. I know it's only preseason but he looks like a guy who will be able to make meaningful contributions to the team, though I still think he'll be more of a playmaker than a goal scorer.
5) After a disastrous start to the preseason, David Rittich has bounced back nicely stopping 40 of the last 41 shots he has faced. His save percentage is now up to .897 through three appearances. Meanwhile, Jon Gillies has stopped 30 of 34 for a .882 save percentage after two games. It'd be comforting to see one of them really step up over the next couple weeks.
Recent posts:
Five takeaways from Calgary vs Boston
Three reasons to be optimistic about the Flames heading into 2018-19
Three Flames question marks heading into 2018-19
There were positives in Sam Bennett's disappointing campaign