Gaudreau & Bennett lead Flames to Victory over Coyotes

It took four pre-season games, but the Calgary Flames finally got their first win of 2017-18 at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes. Calgary rode a strong night from the makeshift top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sam Bennett, and Micheal Ferland to a 4-2 victory.

I’m going to try something different and do this recap as a list of observations:

• Sam Bennett was outstanding tonight with three assists, and could’ve had a lot more as he was making big plays in both the offensive and defensive zone. Could he be making a case for centering Ferland and Gaudreau in the regular season?
• Johnny Gaudreau had a solid night, being the ever speedy playmaker that he was, and burying two goals in the process.
• The entire top four defensive core really looked like a solid unit as the group got used to playing together again. They did a fine job shutting down the Coyotes and limiting high quality chances.
• Mark Jankowski continues to impress with another goal and a pretty darn good game, despite being paired with Troy Brouwer.
• I thought Mike Smith was decent but he wasn’t particularly tested too much, don’t think he had a chance on the first goal
• Tanner Glass looked pretty good as a fourth line grinder and while some might not want him to join the team, he’s doing what he needs to do
• On the downside Curtis Lazar had another lackluster performance and with other guys stepping up, it’s becoming more likely that the Flames may have to make a tough decision

The Flames are next in action when they take on the Winnipeg Jets at 6:00pm MT.