Opening night VS the Vancouver Canucks, emotions are high, blood is pumping, the fans are yelling and screaming. It's hard to top these moments as a player. Opening night holds a special place for many that have come and gone and we expect Calgary to be ready to go and get this season on its way.
It looks like Bob Hartley will keep his lines as they were at practice and youth will rule this night in nearly every forward position this evening here at the saddledome. In a pre game interview earlier today Sam Bennett couldn't contain his grin when asked about skating in between Mason Raymond and Devin Setoguchi during his first NHL game and mentioned that pre game nap was out of the question.
It will take time for those nerves to fade and only game time experience will teach these young players how to deal with it.
Lets have a look at the game results.
| Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames |
| Jan 1, | 1 | 2 | 3 | F | | VAN () | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | | CGY () | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Three Stars |  | H. Sedin
2 goals |  | J. Hansen
1 goal |  | R. Miller
1.00 GAA 19 saves .950 SV% |
| | Team Stats Comparison | | VAN | CGY | | Shots on Goal | 18 | 20 | | Hits | 11 | 12 | | Faceoffs Won-Lost | 10 | 15 | | Penalty Minutes | 19:00 | 19:00 | | Power Plays Converted | 1 | 0 | | Power Play Opportunities | 3 | 1 | | Time on Attack | 6:27 | 6:44 |
|
| Scoring Summary | | FIRST PERIOD | | CGY | 01:34 S. Monahan (1) (J. Gaudreau) | | VAN | 04:12 J. Hansen (1) (A. Burrows, S. Matthias) | | SECOND PERIOD | | VAN | 18:27 H. Sedin (1) (D. Sedin, R. Vrbata) | | THIRD PERIOD | | VAN | 04:32 H. Sedin (2) (R. Vrbata, A. Edler) |
|
| Vancouver Canucks - Goalies | | GOALIES | SHOTS | SAVES | SV % | GAA | | R. Miller | 20 | 19 | 95% | .950 |
|
| Vancouver Canucks - Skaters | | SKATERS | TOI | G | A | +/- | SOG | PIM | | R. Vrbata | 17:48 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | H. Sedin | 19:54 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | | A. Burrows | 16:10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | D. Sedin | 16:38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | S. Matthias | 10:36 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | J. Hansen | 10:25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | | A. Edler | 20:01 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:00 |
|
| Calgary Flames - Goalies | | GOALIES | SHOTS | SAVES | SV % | GAA | | J. Hiller | 18 | 15 | 83% | .833 |
|
| Calgary Flames - Skaters | | SKATERS | TOI | G | A | +/- | SOG | PIM | | S. Monahan | 15:09 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | | J. Gaudreau | 16:39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
|
Post game with Sean Monahan:
"I think we deserved a better fate tonight really, you know regardless of the outcome there are lessons and things to learn from and video to watch and all of those things but I honestly thought we all played a sharp game tonight and we deserved more than we got but thats how this game flows sometimes and now we look forward."
Honestly Sean has got it right for the most part, the Flames definitely came out hot under the collar and ready to play, it was Monahan who slammed an amazing backhander into the top corner to beat Miller for the first and only time this evening, it was the conclusion to excellent work put up by Johnny Gaudreau who maintained possession of the puck in the end boards from Kevin Bieksa, who then spotted Monahan calling for the puck out front, a simple looking but perfectly placed back handed pass slid out to a wide open Monahan who went left to right on a sliding Miller, roofing the puck to end the play.
The Canucks took it in stride and returned the favour only minutes later but the Flames were all over them in the first, including two fights that broke out one started by Joe Colborne and the other by Lance Bouma. It was a split decision with each team winning one fight each.
The second period seen a lot of north south hockey but not a lot of quality scoring chances, even the goal scored by Vancouver was a power play effort after a David Jones slashing call.
The third period was easily the best period the Flames have had this season (lol) but seriously, they fired shot after shot at Miller, possessed the puck with determination and pushed the Canucks back on their heels including more of the same even after Vancouver got a lucky one past Hiller, with the shot bouncing off a leg in front, slamming to a near stop off the right post then trickling ever so slowly over the goal line.
Don't get me wrong Flames fans, a loss is a loss but this one you can hold your heads high on.