The Colorado Avalanche arrived in Calgary on Thursday looking to reset quickly after a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. The meeting with the Calgary Flames comes at 7 p.m. MT and closes the second night of a Western Canada back-to-back set for Colorado.
It is also the start of a two-game homestand for the Flames, who are getting a better look at their lineup after a busy Wednesday. Aydar Suniev and Jonathan Castagna joined the club for the morning skate following a perfect weekend with the AHL Wranglers, while Brayden Pachal and Connor Zary passed through waivers and headed back to the AHL Wranglers.
What Colorado showed in Winnipeg
Jared Bednar said he liked the Avalanche’s effort despite the result. He said the team was skating well, checking hard and generating good scoring chances, but Colorado could not finish the job after giving up the lead. Kyle Connor scored the winner at 19:00 of the third period, handing the Avalanche their first loss of the young season.
Bednar added that the game went about as expected, but that Colorado still has a couple of things it needs to do better. With the Avalanche on the road for the second half of a back-to-back, managing those details becomes even more important.
Flames looking for a strong start at home
For Calgary, the matchup arrives with a renewed focus on the middle of the ice. Ryan Huska said he wants to keep Martin Pospisil in the middle, where he has done well and been an effective penalty killer, while Ryan Strome has also shown enough to keep the coaching staff comfortable with the setup.
Huska said Strome has played the wall before, which gives Calgary the chance to use a right-handed and left-handed option on face-offs on that line. He also noted that there is a fine line between being comfortable and too comfortable, calling the lineup move a good message for the players involved and for the rest of the group.
The Flames opened the new campaign with a top-10 even-strength face-off efficiency rate of 52.3%, so the middle-of-the-ice emphasis is not a small detail. It is part of the team’s attempt to stay organized early in the season while also making sure the players who earn chances in the lineup stay sharp.
Against an Avalanche team that is still sorting out the final leg of a travel-heavy stretch, Calgary has a chance to set the tone quickly on home ice. Colorado already showed in Winnipeg that it can create chances, but the Flames will try to make the most of their home opener in the series and make the night a difficult one for a tired opponent.
