CALGARY – Mark Giordano doesn’t think it’s a coincidence or a fluke.
“No I don’t,” laughed the Calgary Flames captain when asked about his club’s opening night assignment.
“I think it’s a good thing. I think the league does things like that well with rivalries in games that have a little bit more meaning, especially early in the season.”
A full 167 days after their breakthrough season came to a crashing halt, the Flames will start their season in Colorado where they felt a Mile Low last spring.
Yes, the team that was on their minds all summer long as they contemplated how it all fell apart, will welcome them back to action Thursday at Pepsi Centre.
“That’s funny how these things work — I don’t know if that’s by accident,” chuckled GM Brad Treliving who shares Giordano’s mindset.
“I heard a good line the other day: ‘if you’re looking through the schedule for an easy game and you can’t find one, you’re the easy game.
“There aren’t any easy ones. Hey, they’re a really good team that got better over the summer, so that’s certainly a challenge. The fact that it’s back at the scene of the crime adds a layer to it, but, hey, you’ve got to play everyone.”
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In the eyes of every Flame you ask, it’s the perfect way to start.
“That’s a great place to start the season and kick it off,” said Sean Monahan, whose club lost the opening round in five games to the Colorado Avalanche, who finished 17 points behind the conference-winning Flames.
“There’s obviously history there with the playoffs. They’re a good team and they’ll put us on pace to get the season started. They’ve got speed, skill and quality defencemen, so that’s one we’re looking forward to.”
So are the Avalanche, given how easily they disposed of the Flames with a blend of speed, hot goaltending and a boatload of momentum gained down the stretch as they fought their way into the playoffs.
Led by coming-out parties for Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and goalie Philipp Grubauer, the Avalanche won four straight after a series-opening loss.
Nothing builds a rivalry like a playoff matchup, prompting league schedule-makers to recognize the deliciousness of having the two start against one another – no different than the brilliance of pitting the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights together for a back-to-back kickoff.
Oh sure, the league blew it by scheduling the season’s first Battle of Alberta for Dec. 27.
But they nailed this one.
“I can only speak for myself, but I think it’s good to play them right away,” said Elias Lindholm, again a staple on the Flames’ top line.
“It was kind of a tough ending there, but overall Colorado was better than us. I hope everyone took it as motivation this summer to work out harder.
“They made some changes this summer and I think they improved their team and probably will be one of the better teams in the league this year.”
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Indeed they should be, adding Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky to anchor their second line, as well as Joonas Donskoi. Given the momentum they gained with a first-round upset and a loss in Game 7 of the second round against San Jose, the young Avs enter the year with much much more than just the best line in hockey.
“They know we’re going to come in hungry and show we’re better than them and that we didn’t play our best in the spring,” said Mikael Backlund.
“We want to show them and everybody else right off the hop we’re a really good team. I’m sure they’ll want to keep that streak going.
Before the playoffs, I don’t think we lost to them in two or three years. Now it changed a little bit, so hopefully we can get that momentum swing back. It’s going to be a big first game right away.”
The Flames enter the season much the same as last year, adding just three bodies to a lineup that accrued 107 points last season – Milan Lucic, Tobias Rieder and Cam Talbot. All are Oilers castoffs, hungry to resurrect their careers on a team hoping to atone for last spring’s faceplant.
With eight core players inked for at least the next three years the Flames are entering a window in which they have the talent to challenge for the Stanley Cup.
The biggest question is whether they have what it takes to elevate their game when it matters most?
“It’s obviously fresh in our minds that we lost in five to them, so it will be a good game to get back into the intensity and try to get that win and a little bit of redemption from the playoffs,” said Giordano, the reigning Norris Trophy winner who turns 36 opening night.
“We’re going to play them over the course of the year a few times, but this one means a little more.”
CHIP SHOTS: The Flames send Alan Quine, Zac Rinaldo and Dillon Dube down to AHL Stockton on Tuesday and announced they had released veteran defenceman Andrew MacDonald from his PTO without an autograph.
It’s a nod to defenceman Oliver Kylington, who will get his first opening night gig in the NHL after four years spent largely on the farm. Coach Bill Peters confirmed he’ll pair up with Rasmus Andersson on the final pairing, as they did the latter half of last season.
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