Calgary tests defencemen in Colorado
With top four starters sitting out, no- name corps holds down the fort
Think about this scenario.
You’re Brad Treliving and you’ve just been delivered the news that one of your best defenceman is out four- to- six weeks with a broken hand.
Two days later, you’re watching the Calgary Flames square off in their second pre- season game against the Colorado Avalanche that dress, basically, a full lineup — forwards, especially — capable of starting on the opening the National Hockey League regular season. What are you going to watch? The natural tendency during Thursday’s 1- 0 Flames win at the Pepsi Center was to watch Treliving’s blueline and how they reacted. And, also, picture how they’d fit in with Calgary’s offensively-minded group.
So, enter Rasmus Andersson, Ryan Wilson, Jakub Nakladal, Kenney Morrison, Dustin Stevenson, and Brett Kulak — the defencemen Calgary sent out in the absence of their resting top- four: Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, Dennis Wideman and Kris Russell.
“We did a really good job defensively,” said netminder Joni Ortio who was no slouch himself, turning aside 33 shots for a shutout that has his goals against average at 0.67 and save percentage at .978 through four- and- a- half periods of pre- season action.
“The ( Avs) have some speed up front. I thought we matched that. We didn’t let them get going or gather speed through the neutral zone.
“I think we did a really good job there.”
He wasn’t wrong. A defensive effort it was.
Early in the third period, the Flames looked to have lost Nakladal ( later, determined to be an upper body injury) after he became tangled up with Colorado’s John Mitchell, leaving the visitors with five defencemen. Which meant there were more opportunities to evaluate the others.
On a Matt Stajan tripping penalty halfway through the third, Kulak and Morrison were tasked with manning the first shift on defence. Puck iced.
On the second shift, Wilson and Stevenson went out — no goal scored, either. Penalty killed.
Then, with three minutes left in the third, Andersson and Wilson managed to help kill another penalty ( to Brandon Bollig). Ditto for Morrison, who helped clear the puck with just over a minute remaining while the Avs had an extra attacker on the ice.
Andersson also looked sharp in the second period during an Avs power play. He faked a shot, sent a pass to Joe Colborne ( his first game back since wrist surgery), jumped into the play and tried to score. He didn’t, but he continued to stand out throughout the game.
Then, on a delayed tripping penalty call to Nathan MacKinnon, the Flames were in trouble in their own end. Sensing this, Kulak made a play to exit the neutral zone.
“It wasn’t a pretty game,” said Andersson. “It was one of those low- scoring games but it was big for us.
“You always have to play defence in a game like this, they have a lot of really skilled players. We had good defence.”
As for the lone goal scored, Josh Jooris apparently didn’t get the memo that he already had made the team — this time last year, in fact — and put the Flames on the board with 6: 10 remaining in the first period.
Andersson, however, who hasn’t yet made the team, earned an assist on Calgary’s opening marker.
“We did a great job defensively,” said Flames head coach Bob Hartley. “We had many young players in the lineup. Looking at our blueline, we didn’t have too many NHL veterans out there, and they did good. We blocked lots of shots and I don’t think they got too many rebounds.”
The Avs managed to send 11 shots Ortio’s way in the first period, including a prime shot from MacKinnon that was released after a wraparound.
Somehow, the puck hit Nakladal’s stick, slid across the goalmouth, and was corralled by the Finnish netminder.
ICE CHIPS: ... Flames head coach Bob Hartley weighed in on the signing of G Nick Schneider, an undrafted kid out of Leduc who tends goal for the Medicine Hat Tigers. Due to a suspected concussion to Jon Gillies ( who is back skating, by the way), the 18- year- old has filled in admirably. “This is an unbelievable story,” he said. “Schnieds is a great kid. He worked unbelievably hard, he was in shape. And he was not impressed. Many kids ... just want to make a good impression. This wasn’t good enough for him. He wanted to be there. He put on quite a show.”