Calgary’s final road game of the season presents an interesting opportunity.
The Flames roll into Vancouver Tuesday night to take on a team with plenty on the line. The Canucks are playing their final home game before the playoffs and sit one point away from clinching the Pacific Division.
Even ignoring the 28-point difference between the two squads, Calgary is going to be in tough. And knowing the Flames have had an eye on the future the last few weeks, that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it serves as a great learning and evaluation tool.
“You’re playing against the top team in our division right now that still has something on the line, and we know what kind of game we’ll get from them,” head coach Ryan Huska said Monday following Calgary’s final full practice of the season.
“It gives us an opportunity to see some younger players against some of the best players.”
The Canucks are one of the Western Conference’s deepest teams up front. They’re hungry. They’re ramping up for the most important time of year. And they’re as close to a measuring stick as a team in Calgary’s position is going to get.
“We’re playing high-level competition here and a team that is still jostling, so they’re going to be fired up and ready to go,” said assistant coach Cail MacLean on Sunday’s Flames Talk postgame show.
“The thing with Vancouver is it’s a good evaluation of who can handle speed. There’s speed and skill there. You’ve got defencemen and forwards alike who have the opportunity to go in and show that they can handle this pace at this time of year with a team that’s clawing to find the right positioning in the playoffs.”
And I’m not sure that wisdom applies to anyone more than rookie forward Connor Zary.
The Flames moved Zary to centre earlier this month for the purpose of evaluating their first-year standout in the NHL’s most challenging forward position. The returns have been strong thus far, which is encouraging heading into next season.
But Zary hasn’t faced a challenge quite like the one he’ll see Tuesday night.
“We want to see him continue to take steps in that position,” said Huska.
“I think he’s done a really good job so far. The LA game (a 4-1 loss last week) was a tougher game because they have the depth…and Vancouver is very similar in that regard. All of the matchups that they choose to go with are going to be challenging ones for all of our centers. It’s a great opportunity for him to see if he can raise his level against a really good team.”
With Elias Lindholm back in the lineup, Vancouver is absolutely loaded down the middle. Lindholm and his line with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua, fresh off Saturday’s stellar performance head-to-head with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, will likely see Nazem Kadri and Calgary’s top offensive trio for much of Tuesday’s matchup.
With last change at his disposal, that leaves head coach Rick Tocchet the option to use one of JT Miller or Elias Pettersson against Zary. For the 2020 first-round pick, it’s as massive an opportunity as it is a stiff challenge.
And, honestly, there’s no real downside. If Zary performs well and holds his own, it’s an encouraging sign. And if he gets run over, it’s just another lesson in what goes into playing centre at the highest level.
That’s what this time of year is all about for the Flames.
Milestone watch is on.
Nazem Kadri is a goal away from his third 30-goal season. Blake Coleman, who will miss his fourth straight game Tuesday with an upper-body injury, is one away from hitting 30 for the first time in his career.
Then there’s MacKenzie Weegar who sits at 19 with two games remaining. Weegar is that close to becoming the first NHL defenceman to hit 20 goals and 200 blocked shots in the same season, the latter of which has already been achieved.
Individual milestones like these really are driving the Flames in the final week of the regular season.
“They matter,” admitted Huska on Monday.
“At the end of the day, you want it to be always about a team game. But at the same time, there are things like getting 30 goals or getting 20 for a defenceman that matter.
“Teammates know that too. There are situations where if they can, they’re going to do everything they can to try and help those guys score that goal. As much as it is about team, those milestones are important because…it solidifies the type of season that certain individuals have had for us.”
Snapshots
– The Flames are hoping Coleman gets one more chance in his quest for 30. Coleman was back on the ice for practice Monday morning and Huska says the team has their “fingers crossed” he can return in Calgary’s season finale vs. San Jose on Thursday.
– Calgary recalled forward Adam Klapka from the American League Monday morning and it sounds like the towering winger will suit up for the team’s final two games. At 6-foot-8 and 235lbs, the Flames are hoping to see Klakpa use his imposing frame more effectively than during his first NHL recall in January. Klapka leads the Calgary Wranglers with 24 goals and 45 points in 64 games this season.
– Monday also saw the Flames sign Finnish goaltender Waltteri Ignatjew to a one-year entry-level deal at $870,000. Calgary Director of Goaltending Jordan Sigalet has been zeroed in on Ignatjew since the start of his season with Swedish second league team Mora IK, which just ended over the weekend. The plan is for 24-year-old Ignatjew to be in North America next year to battle for AHL playing time.
