The Flames pre-season began in the same fashion the previous season ended: with a listless, disjointed and ultimately fruitless effort.
I wasn't expecting a virtuoso performance in an exhibition game, but, phew was last night ever a stinker. It didn't help that the evening was dominated by special teams play and that the Flames special teams were..."special" in the helmet wearing, corked-forks sense of the word.
Calgary actually iced more veterans than I was expecting, for what that was worth. Lombardi, Tanguay and Nolan formed the de facto "first line" while Phaneuf, Aucoin, Hale and Regehr were the experienced defenders. Primeau, Yelle, Moss, Conroy and Eric Godard rounded out the established guys up front.
Flames rookies included Sutter, Nystrom, Chukco, Ramholt, Pardy and Boyd. The combinations looked something like this:
Tanguay - Lombardi - Nolan (as mentioned)
Nystrom - Yelle - Godard
Sutter - Boyd - Moss
Primeau - Conroy - Chucko
Aucoin - Regehr
Phaneuf - Ramholt
Hale - Pardy
Keetley
Impressions...
Main Guys:
It's always hard to gauge a vets performance in the pre-season because they tend to be less than motivated to put forth much of an effort. With that in mind:
- Matthew Lombardi
Played a fairly spirited contest. Mixed it up in the corners and was active all over the ice. Clearly trying to establish himself in Keenan's eyes right off the bat.
- Wayne Primeau
Not the fastest skater, but made some decent plays along the boards and a nifty deke that lead to a break-away and the closest the Flames came to scoring.
- Owen Nolan
A little rusty, particularly when it came to finishing offensive opportunities. Displayed his feisty nature by hammering some poor schmo near the end of the game.
- Craig Conroy
Played a 4th liner kind of role. Didn't really notice him.
- Alex Tanguay
Tanguay looked decent, albeit playing at about half speed. Made a couple of pretty passes that were subsequently flubbed.
- Stephane Yelle
Played a Yelle-ish game. One of the better, more consistent players on the team all night. Blocked some shots on the PK.
- Eric Godard
Godard is a great fighter, but a terrible hockey player. Has no idea what to do with the puck when it comes to him. Slow and clumsy.
- David Moss
Moss seemed quicker than I remember. Was a thorn in the side of the Panthers players all night and nearly goaded Jokinen into a fight at the end of the game.
- Phaneuf, Aucoin, Regehr, Hale
All variations of bad. Phaneuf and Aucoin were brutal on the PP together. They hit more glass and shinpads with their shots than the net. Gave up consecutive break-aways on a 5on3 PP in the 2nd period. Phaneuf was rambunctious, but the puck may as well have been a tennis ball on his stick.
Regehr didn't do much that I can recall. Ended the night -2. Hale was the Hale I remember: a quiet defensive presence that makes the odd gaffe. Pretty unimpressive night for this group to say the least.
The Bubble Boys:
- Dustin Boyd
Probably the most noticeable young forward. Used his speed pretty well and was stronger on his skates than last year.
- Eric Nystrom
Smooth skating left-winger played decently on the PK, but didn't get much ice time otherwise. Seemed to be benched for a long stretch in the 2nd period for some reason. Still doesn't seem to get much accomplished beyond his own blueline.
- Kris Chucko
Chucko was better along the boards as compared to last year, but that's about it. Still an awkward skater and still can't really handle the puck.
- Brett Sutter
Sutter had some good shifts forechecking in the offensive zone. Jittery and nervous around the net, though. Keenan played him more than Nystrom and Chucko.
- Adam Pardy
Big body, but didn't notice him otherwise. Didn't play much.
- Tim Ramholt
Worst defender on the ice last night. Made 3 massive, Zyuzin-esque errors, including a pass up the middle to a Panther in his own zone. Extremely nervous and hesitant. I'd be surprised if he makes it through the next batch of cuts.
- Matt Keetley
Best youngster by a mile last night. Ironically, Keetley played only because Curtis MceLhinney was injured by a Nolan shot in the warm-up. Made a number of excellent stops, including a hilight reel pad save on a Jokinen break-away. Had occassional rebound control issues, but was solid nonetheless. Voted first star on the game, Keetley was the main reason the Panthers "only" won by 3.
Besides the goaltending, nothing much else stood out besides the fact the Flames were rusty and out of sync. None of the youngsters made much of a statement and the most of the vets mailed it in to one degree or another. The PP was a train-wreck (partially because every line got a shot at it) and the PK was average.
Bleh. Not the best way to start the year. Hopefully the games get more interesting as the pre-season rolls along.
Official re-cap.
Game-sheet.
