That’s right, it’s another game night, but this time against the Flames. Like us, Calgary has made some major changes in the off-season. For starters they changed their GM to Craig Conroy, who used to be their assistant GM. They also replaced their former coach Daryl Sutter with Ryan Huska. Huska was an in-house change, ala Danny Bylsma. Huska’s main focus seems to be fortify their defense and also their general goal productivity. Also, they also already have a goal-tending battle going on, between Jacob Markstrom and the new guy, Dustin Wolf. I’m not sure which guy will play tonight, but either one of them will have something to prove.
Calgary has also revamped their power play by putting Matt Coronato on the wall, to hopefully increase its fire power. AND … they have Marc Savard coaching the power play… yeah, that Savard.
Notable Flames players to be aware of:
– Mikael Backlund: Looking to have a more productive season, and was also names Captain. ( Apparently they haven’t had a captain since 2020: Mark Giordano)
– Andrew Mangiapane: Looking to have a healthier season after missing time with a bum shoulder. He will try to mix it up in the corners.
– Connor Zary: Fresh meat; He’ll probably score, just because.
– Elias Lindholm: Will be spending this year ‘shaking it’ for the highest dollar, as he will try to find a new sugar daddy. Calgary likely will not be able to pay him more money, as he’s in a contract year. Rumor has it he’s asking for a long term contact and 9 million dollars. [Too rich for our Penguin blood, so don’t even thinking about it.]
Other Randos to watch:
- Huberdeau, Kadri, Weegar, Markstrom, Backlund, and Coleman
Pittsburgh is coming off a sweet spanking of the Washington Capitals. It was the Capitals first-ever HOME OPENER shutout defeat.
A win is a win, but it kind of was like beating the slow kid in recess. Reiden survived another day, as the PP scored. Malkin and Rakell picked up their 1st goals for the year and Crosby scored 2. Pettersson dropped the gloves with Urine stain. And Jarry picks up a shut-out. 4-0. The Washington “Rivalry” is still pretty fun to watch.
Stand-out moments:
- Evgeni Malkin: I have been watching old games recently and Geno was an absolute beast when he was younger. He skated with easy, had a killer shot, and was not afraid to use his 6’4 frame. He used to attack the net. And had not yet fell in love with the ‘drop pass’. This was the Geno that played on Friday night. He was having fun, swing his Big G all over the ice.
- Have we found a functioning 2nd line? Maybe Rakell can finally be used appropriately.
- Sully making on the fly adjustments: Jarry saw a lot of shots in the 1st period as WSH was having their defense jump into the play. After intermission, all that nonsense stopped.
The Pens are hoping to continue to add to the momentum of this win, and not get …BURNED.
LET’S GO PENS!