The Flames open the pre-season against the visiting Florida Panthers tonight. I've heard the Panthers plan to give Ed Belfour the opportunity to prove he's not simply a "dried-up mummy husk" this evening while Todd Bertuzzi will be given the night off.
As for the Flames, it looks like they'll be dressing hopefuls Brent Krahn, Mark Giordano, Brad Ference, Richie Regehr, Dustin Boyd, Eric Godard, Kris Chucko, David Moss, Brandon Prust, Carsen Germyn and David Van Der Gulik. That's a pretty healthy dose of bubble players, especially considering the Florida roster will include veterans Joe Nieuwendyk, Martin Gelinas, Olli Jokinen, Nathan Horton, Gary Roberts, Ruslan Salei and Bryan Allen. None of Calgary's top two forwards (Iginla, Tanguay) or top two defensemen (Robyn Regehr, Phaneuf) will be in the line-up.
I'll be attending the contest tonight, so expect a game wrap-up tomorrow. I'll be particularly interested in how Krahn handles himself in the nets tonight, and I'll make an effort to assess the efforts of rookie camp stand-outs like Brandon Prust, Dustin Boyd, Mark Giordano and Richie Regher.
