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Flames preseason game 2. Post game 1 |
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The Flames are in Vancouver today for their second preseason game in as many nights. Last night’s game against the Oilers is best forgotten about, but if you want a summary of how each line did you will find it below today’s report. Just don’t expect a shining review beyond the goalies and the Mackey/Welinski pairing.
Here are the lines for tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks:
Andrew Mangiapane - Dillon Dube - Brett Ritchie
Jakob Pelletier - Adam Ruzicka - Matthew Phillips
Martin Pospisil - Glenn Gawdin - Luke Philp
Justin Kirkland - Byron Froese - Walker Duehr
Juuso Valimaki - Michael Stone
Oliver Kylington - Kevin Gravel
Connor Mackey - Nick DeSimone
Dan Vladar
Adam Werner
Three things to watch:
1.Second Chances
Jusso Valimaki, Connor Mackey, Martin Pospisil, Glen Gawdin, Dillon Dube, Adam Ruzicka, Jakob Pelletier, and Matthew Phillips all played last night in a disappointing effort. Tonight will be a second chance to impress Darryl Sutter. Dan Vladar and Adam Werner did great last night and deserve another game.
2.Walker gets a first chance
Walker Duehr earned himself a look in preseason action by laying the body and using his size. He plays a physical RW role and might earn a call up this season given the organization’s lack of depth on the right side.
3.Mangiapane and Dube get a look playing together
It will be interesting to see these two use their speed to create opportunities. Brett Ritchie will need to use his size better than he did last night playing right wing on that line.
Post game report — Flames vs Oilers
Dillon Dube - Mikael Backlund - Tyler Pitlick
This line started out really well. The Oilers got their puck pressure to where they needed it to be and it completely choked this line out. Backlund and Dube made some good passing plays, but this line underperformed. Pitlick put in a good effort, but only contributed on the defensive side of the puck. He sustained a lower body injury in the first and, after a brief attempt to return to the lineup, he went back down the tunnel. More information will be available soon, but there is a good chance this is related to last season’s injury.
Milan Lucic - Brad Richardson - Trevor Lewis
Lucic did a good job of establishing a presence physically. He made a few hits including a massive check in the first. Lucic took a cheap shot from Devin Shore in the neutral zone and he stuck up for himself after the play. What resulted was a four minute penalty. The Oilers scored about twenty seconds into the power play. Richardson’s had a few crafty moments, but he was easily the slowest player on the ice and lost some important faceoffs.
Jakob Pelletier - Glenn Gawdin - Matthew Phillips
There were moments where this line shined, but those moments were few and far apart. Phillips played like a grinder for most of the game and looked out of his element. When the play developed without him and he actually got some time to move his feet, he got a great chance in the low slot — Calgary’s best offensive opportunity of the night.
Martin Pospisil - Adam Ruzicka - Brett Ritchie
This line didn’t work. Pospisil looked like a man among boys in the rookie camp games. He struggled this game. Ruzicka was quiet and ineffective. Brett Ritchie was a mess.
Nikita Zadorov - Rasmus Andersson
Andersson didn’t have a great game and would probably like to put this performance behind him. Zadorov threw a nice hit in the first, but overhandled the puck and got stripped a few times.
Juuso Valimaki - Erik Gudbranson
This pairing struggled. Valimaki made some bad passes — highlighted by a telegraphed suicide pass up the middle. Gudbranson gave the puck away three or four times.
Connor Mackey - Andy Welinski
Calgary’s best pairing. Andy Welinski showed great patience and sharp passing. Sutter brought him over from Anaheim and he looked great. Mackey worked well with him.
Dan Vladar & Adam Werner
Both goalies played well despite being hung out to dry. Across all four Flames lines there wasn’t enough point pressure, so most of the game was Vladar or Werner dealing with shots through traffic or the odd breakaway.
Thanks for reading,
Trevor Neufeld
Follow me on Twitter @Trevor_Neufeld
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