The Calgary Flames opened their pre-season schedule Sunday night at the Saddledome and came away with a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken in a game that had its share of momentum swings, messy stretches and a few encouraging signs for Calgary’s young players.
Seattle struck first when a neutral-zone turnover sparked an odd-man rush. What started as a two-on-one turned into a three-on-two, and Ty Nelson, joining as the third trailing skater, beat Devin Cooley inside the post to make it 1-0.
A few minutes later, the game turned in another direction when Brennan Othmann was tossed from the contest. His hit on Ville Ottavainen included an elbow that caught the Seattle defender, which led to a fight with John Hayden and then an ejection for Othmann.
The Kraken took advantage of the ensuing power play. Jagger Firkus collected a bouncing puck in the Flames zone after Calgary tried to disrupt Seattle’s passing, and the puck took a kind bounce for the visitors. Left with room, Firkus finished with a clean shot to stretch the lead to 2-0.
Calgary didn’t break through until late in the third, when Aydar Suniev helped create the opening with a forecheck that forced a turnover. Sam Honzek picked off the puck and fed Suniev, who ripped a shot past Philipp Grubauer to get the Flames on the board.
The Flames kept pressing and tied it midway through the period. Suniev found the puck close to the net and buried it past Nikke Kokko to even the score at 2-2.
That rally didn’t last long. Joel Hanley took a minor penalty soon after, and Logan Morrison tipped one home in front on the power play to put Seattle back in front 3-2. The Kraken added an empty-net goal to finish the job.
Even in a game that felt clunky and uneven, Calgary had a few players who stood out. Honzek was the clear bright spot, and Jonathan Castagna, Zayne Parekh and Yan Kuznetsov also drew attention for the right reasons.
On the other side, Alex Nylander didn’t make much of an impression, while Hunter Brzustewicz had trouble with fast decisions and looked a bit uncomfortable handling the puck in his own end.
Calgary’s lines were:
Nylander-Kerins-Gridin
Honzek-Jones-Hunt
Stromgren-Gross-Basha
Othmann-Castagna-Suniev
Hanley-Pachal
Kuznetsov-Parekh
Wiebe-Brzustewicz
Devin Cooley started in goal and played the full game, with Arsenii Sergeev backing him up.
Seattle’s lines were:
Nyman-Molgaard-Firkus
Rehkopf-Morrison-Winterton
Sale-Stephens-Avon
Douglas-Hayden-Villeneuve
Jugnauth-Ottavainen
Olofsson-Nelson
Price-Hammell
Philipp Grubauer started in net, with Nikke Kokko as the backup.
The Flames are back on Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks in what will be the final pre-season game ever at the Saddledome.
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