Bollig’s new sweater an unfamiliar sight
It was a familiar sight:
Brandon Bollig standing along the bench during the national anthem at the United Center, bouncing, wiggling and getting himself loose throughout. It was also a familiar sight to see him in the penalty box midway through the first period.
Only this time, he was wearing a Flames sweater.
“It’s pretty weird walking into the building with another team, but I’m excited,” Bollig told reporters before the game. “It’s going to be great to see those guys out there and hopefully give them a couple of shots. But it’ll be awesome. Definitely mixed emotions when I hear the anthem again.”
Bollig was traded to Calgary for a third- round pick on draft day in June. He still talks regularly with many of his old teammates, and Jeremy Morin is even living in the condo he purchased shortly before being traded.
“Looking back, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” he said. “Obviously, winning a championship. Not only that, but the relationships you make with the guys and the coaches and the community is something I’ll never forget. Hopefully, I’ll end up here again someday.” Bollig expected old pal
Andrew Shaw to chirp the most during the game. Shaw expected the same.
“I’m sure I’ll have a few words for him,” Shaw said. “He’s a good friend, a good teammate when he was here. But you don’t have any friends when you’re on the ice.”
Hashing it out
One of the changes the NHL made for this season is widening the hashmarks extending from the faceoff circles. It was designed to limit tie- ups and jostling for position on draws by separating wingers by 5 feet, 7 inches instead of just 3 feet. While more physical wingers don’t like it, Patrick Kane’s a fan.
“It does make a little bit of a difference,” he said. “Maybe [ there are] times where you can get in there a little quicker and get the puck back and get a quick jump and try to get that puck battle. And also, if anything, you maybe get a little time and space off the wall there. It was a good change— something I don’t think any of us really thought about, but it could make a big difference.”
Eight is enough
Even though Kyle Cumiskey was a healthy scratch for the third straight game, coach Joel Quenneville plans to keep all eight defensemen on the roster when Michal Rozsival returns to the lineup. Quenneville had a three- man rotation for the sixth spot for much of last season, too, but right now is just trying to figure out how the new defensemen fit in.
“Right now, we haven’t really gotten a rotation,” Quenneville said. “We’re just trying to get pairs these three games. Splitting up [ Niklas Hjalmarsson] and Johnny Oduya is giving us something that we haven’t looked at in a while here. We’ll see how long that plays out.”