'I Thought We Did A Great Job'

NASHVILLE - A big early shift that sets the tone.

It’s the perfect way to start a hockey game – especially on the road.

A.J. Greer pasted a Wild player into the end boards during Tuesday night’s win, then got the puck and tried to walk out front for shot. Later in the same shift, he battled in the slot and got a solid backhand offering on net.

The tempo and tone was set from there.

“First shift always kind of dictates your night,” said Greer. “It was a good shift, good movement in the O zone, got a shot off – you just try to build on that. Sometimes you’re gonna go out there and nothing is gonna happen, doesn’t mean it’s a bad shift.

"But that was a good one for us and you just build off that momentum for the next shift.”

Greer finished the night with a team high seven shots in the contest, two more than Yegor Sharangovich who was the next Flame in that stat line.

“There are some games you don’t have too many opportunities,” said Greer, after taking part in an optional skate in Nashville ahead of tonight’s tilt with the Predators. “So whenever you do get in a situation where there are an abundance of opportunities, you take advantage of them.

“I had some open shots to take and you can’t hesitate when you do.”

The Flames gameplan against the Wild, a physical team, was to get on their defencemen early, get behind them and make it tough for them to transition out of their zone, said Greer.

He – along with linemates Dillon Dube and Adam Ruzicka – dominated with a 97.1 Corsi-for percentage, dictating puck possession and play at 5-on-5 throughout the contest.

“It was a good game, I thought our line played really well,” said Greer. “We brought the energy and the chemistry followed. You have to take advantage of those shot opportunities and we were shoot first last game.

“So, I thought we did a great job and kept the pressure on them every time we were on the ice.”

Head Coach Ryan Huska was suitably impressed with their showing.

“They were effective (in Minnesota),” said Huska. “When you look at them, Adam's a big man, A.J's a big man, and Dillon's got some speed. They should be able to keep teams in their own zone by the way they can work and how hard they can be on pucks. And they all have a skill-set, too, that allows them to generate.

“That was a good night for them and we'd like to see that continue because it allows us to use certain guys a little bit less up front if that line is going the way they did in Minnesota.”

That's the goal the trio has in mind for Thursday.

“I think we work well together,” he explained “Rosy and Dubes play to their abilities very well, they bring some energy and speed and some creativity and I’m just trying to open up the game for them, open up the ice and play physical and give them the puck.

"Obviously I had some shot attempts last game but overall, I’d like to just get to the net and let them work with the puck and get those greasy ones in front.”

Next up, as mentioned, is a outing with the Preds - a well-rounded team that, like the Flames, have won two straight and sit in the first wild-card berth in the West.

“They have a little bit of everything,” said Greer. “They have physicality and some big bodies. But, again, we have to dictate early what we want to do over the course of the night. We have to be physical, but we also have to take care of our own end and I think the offence will follow.”

The last time the clubs met was on Nov. 22 at Bridgestone Arena, with the homeside skating to a 4-2 victory.

Huska echoed that will be key to a better result.

“I think the start for us,” he said. “The last time we were in here, we didn't have a good game. So, this is an opportunity for us to 1) make amends for that and make sure we're ready to come out hard and ready to skate tonight; and 2) this is a team that we have to find a way to chase down. They're in a spot that we would like to be in and these games are really important for us.”