The rehearsals are now a thing of the past.
Next time, it's for real.
The Flames closed out the preseason with a 3-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday at Rogers Arena, but we can now - officially - turn our attention to the ones that matter.
Nazem Kadri tallied Calgary's lone marker, while Jacob Markstrom – who made his third start of the autumn slate – stopped 28 shots. With the loss, the Flames finish the preseason with a 4-3-1 record. Rookie Matt Coronato appeared in six of the eight games and led all skaters with seven points (4G, 3A), including his hat-trick effort in the opener against these very same Canucks back on Sept. 24.
The Flames iced their most complete lineup of the exhibition loop, with only Blake Coleman sitting out among the regulars. Twenty-seven players remain in camp, but with the injuries to Jakob Pelletier and Kevin Rooney, only one other player will have to be assigned to the AHL’s Wranglers before the 23-man list is announced.
Opening-day rosters are due by Monday at 3 p.m. MT.
The Flames will then raise the curtain on the 2023-24 regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Canucks opened the scoring on their first shot of the game, 1:09 into the contest. With Brock Boeser supplying the screen in front, Tyler Myers filtered a long shot through traffic, beating Markstrom clean on the blocker side.
Less than three minutes later, the Flames got a great chance to test drive their revamped powerplay alignment when Adam Ruzicka was hooked by Irma, Alta. native Carson Soucy as he took the puck to the net.
Both units looked threatening, but it was Dillon Dube’s short-side squeeze that grazed iron and provided their visitors with their best look of the man-up.
Alas, it remained a one-goal deficit for much of the opening stanza.
The Flames, though, evened things up with 4:42 to play, as Kadri jammed home a loose puck in the blue paint.
A Jonathan Huberdeau pass to MacKenzie Weegar in the high slot set the entire play in motion. Weegar’s blast caromed off the end glass, but landed right at the feet of Huberdeau, who quickly corralled the puck in his feet before lunging at the open side. Thatcher Demko pressed his left pad tight to the near post, keeping the puck perilously on the goal line – until Kadri barreled his way to the net and cleaned up the trash.
