'Find Another Level'

So far, so good.

But still, there’s work to do.

That’s the sentiment in the Flames dressing room, as a veteran Calgary squad lines up to face Vancouver Saturday evening at the Scotiabank Saddledome. TICKETS

This evening’s encounter marks the beginning of the second half of the preseason; four more contests to work on details, and ramp things up ahead of the season-opener - against the Canucks - Oct. 9.

“Maybe just the fine details to our systems, that always takes a little bit of time, getting back into the routine of D-zone, offensive zone, neutral zone, just the little details to square away,” defenceman MacKenzie Weegar said Saturday, when asked about where his team’s game is at. “But you know, I think everybody honestly looks great, right now. I think that goes to show, our preseason games, they looked pretty good.”

The Flames and Canucks will both look quite different from the teams that faced each other Wednesday night in Abbotsford, B.C.; Calgary is expected to re-insert vets like Weegar, Jonathan Huberdeau and Mikael Backlund back into the lineup, while Vancouver mainstays Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson both played Friday in a 3-1 setback in Seattle.

Nevertheless, the Flames bench boss is looking for his group to find another gear, following that Wednesday overtime setback he considered the quickest-paced contest of the preseason thus far.

“We have to find another level of speed to our game,” Huska said Saturday morning. “I think we’re now halfway through our exhibition season, and we have to raise the level of competitiveness around the puck, on the puck, however you want to put it. That’s 5-on-5, it’s special teams, it’s everything.

“This time of year, sometimes the hands and the reads are a little off, but you have to dial yourself in on the pace of play, and you have to get your compete level to the point where you want it more than the guy you’re playing against. So, that’s a lot of what we’ll be looking for tonight.”

It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but all of a sudden, Calgary is just two weeks out from its first regular season game at the ‘Dome.

For veterans like Weegar, it’s all about getting back to game speed one skate at a time.

And having fun doing it.

“Just every single day, try to get better, get the pace up, feel the puck about it a little bit more,” he said.

“The vibe around the room, and the culture, and everything with everybody, it feels good in here.”