Flames Effort Stands Out In Shootout Loss

A plucky effort, right down to the wire.

The Flames sent a group thin on NHL experience to Seattle to face a full Kraken lineup, and came within a whisker of walking away with two points.

Jonathan Castagna, Rory Kerins and Aydar Suniev lit the lamp as Calgary took a 3-1 lead into the third period, but the homeside parlayed a third-period rally into a 4-3 shootout victory Thursday evening at Climate Pledge Arena.

The Snipe Show:

Kerins and Suniev ripped home a couple of absolute dandies in Thursday's second period from opposite circles in the Seattle zone. First, Kerins accepted a pass in the left dot from Alex Nylander before quickly releasing the disc into the top left corner of the Kraken net 1:38 into the middle stanza.

Suniev - not to be outdone - took advantage of open space on a two-man advantage, turned and fired home from the right circle at 6:05 for his team-leading third goal of the preseason. Counting his goal in the NextGen Showcase against Edmonton Sept. 14, Suniev has four tucks from his three outings in September exhibition play.

Old Time Hockey:

If you like truculence, Thursday's second period was for you!

And it all started when 18-year-old Chase Harrington drilled Kraken forward Mackie Samoskevich in the Flames defensive slot four minutes into the period. Less than a minute later, Andreas Englund dropped the mitts with Bobby McCann in a massive scrum in the Seattle zone, then shortly thereafter, Kraken skaters Ville Ottavainen and Curtis Douglas were tossed from the game after Ottavainen took exception to a hard hit from Brennan Othmann in the Seattle end of the rink.

All in all, the two teams combined for 65 second-period penalty minutes.

Independent George:

Castagna admitted that he needed a lesson on 90's pop culture when he learned his new nickname last spring.

But no amount of salty pretzels could prevent 'George' from making an impact Thursday at Climate Pledge Arena. Castagna opened the scoring 10:02 into the opening frame, the centreman drove the net, accepting a pass from below the goalline from Brennan Othmann to snap home his first professional preseason goal.

Castagna, who finished the night with a share of the game's lead with four shots on target, was also solid in the face-off circle Thursday, winning nine of his 16 draws.

Chips Ahoy:

It might still be September, but Flames Assistant Coach, Video Jamie Pringle is in mid-season form. 

The man they call 'Chips' was right on the money late in the second period, flagging a Brandon Montour goal for off-side, and after video review it was determined the Seattle defender was a step ahead of the play as the home side entered the offensive zone. 

In all fairness to the linesman on the play, he was clearly focused on not impeding the rush in front of the Kraken bench, leaping up on top of the dasher as the play whizzed past, while Montour gained the line unimpeded on the far side of the rink.

Stat Pack:

Shots: CGY 35, SEA 26

Powerplay: CGY 1-5, SEA 0-2

Faceoffs: CGY 49%, SEA 51%

Blocked Shots: CGY 13, SEA 11

Hits: CGY 24, SEA 21

Lines & Pairings:

FORWARDS

William Stromgren - Ben Jones - Aydar Suniev

Alex Nylander - Sam Morton - Rory Kerins

Dryden Hunt - Jonathan Castagna - Brennan Othmann

Chase Harrington - Tyson Gross - Andrew Basha

DEFENCE

Joel Hanley - Hunter Brzustewicz

Jake Livingstone - Brayden Pachal 

Andreas Englund - Mike Benning

GOALTENDERS

Devin Cooley

Arsenii Sergeev

They Said It:

What's Next:

The Flames' four-game preseason draws to a close, Battle of Alberta style, with a trip to Edmonton Saturday evening. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MT.

Calgary's regular season begins Oct. 1 against these same Kraken in the final Scotiabank Saddledome Home Opener. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS