Calgary Flames
Flames @ Islanders – Preseason game the third
Tough to follow-up the last tilt, which was better than many regular season contests in my humble opinion. This one will feature mostly an AHL line-up for the Flames and won't be covered anywhere besides the radio. Only the lonely hardcores will be tuning in for this one.
Some minor notes:
– Looks like Shantz has won the battle of the goalie invites. Daniel Spence was released by the club recently, while Shantz scored himself a minor league deal.
– Pete Vandermeer has been sent down to the farm. Not sure why he was kept around this long, frankly. He's a career minor leaguer. In fact, he may be in tough to make Abbotsford this year.
– Riley Armstrong makes his debut tonight. Jaffray and Stuart, his competition, will be playing their third games already. Jaffray had a nice goal in game one, but I haven't noticed him much since. Stuart seems to stick out for either good or bad reasons – sometimes his speed and tenaciousness make him look a level above his competitors. Other times, he makes ghastly mental errors that cost the club. Hard to say which is more indicative of the player through just 2 games though.
– Looks like Greentree and Lundmark are getting another look. No Chucko this time.
– Baldwin and Seabrook will be seeing their first "NHL" action. Both are fighting for spots in Abbotsford.
– As is his custom, Kipper was awful in his first game action of the year. Rust or a bad omen? Slightly related, I assume Curtis McElhinney will get some minutes this evening.
by Kent Wilson