Edmonton Downs Calgary in Penticton Opener

The Flames started Tyler Parsons in tonight’s game while Edmonton countered with Dylan Wells. I’m just going to jump right into this on a period-by-period basis.

1st Period

The Oilers were given an early powerplay with Rasmus Andersson in the box for holding but the Flames killed it off well. Edmonton only had a few outside shots and Josh Healey made his presence felt with a big hit during the kill.

Andrew Mangiapane would come up with a nice rush down the wing but he was denied by Oiler goaltender Dylan Wells. On the ensuing play Spencer Foo would take a hooking penalty in the offensive zone, not great. Calgary would kill off this penalty as well with two spectacular saves from Tyler Parsons.

Calgary would get their first powerplay and get a few good opportunities with Mark Jankowski ringing a shot off the post but no pucks found their way into the net.

The Flames would get another man advantage shortly after and would get a few good chances on the second half but no scoring.

The first period would conclude with no score between the teams. Calgary had 11 shots to Edmonton’s 8.

First Period Thoughts

• Tyler Parsons looked amazing, making a couple great saves
• Andrew Mangiapane had a few good rushes and looks crazy fast
• Mark Jankowski really commanded the Flames offense, especially on the powerplay
• Brett Pollock had quite a few scoring chances and laid a few hits - getting noticed early
• The Flames laid some big hits in the first, one from Healey and a HUGE one from invite Glenn Gawdin

2nd Period

Calgary would take the 1-0 lead early in the second period with Juuso Valimaki being fed a pass in the left circle and beating Wells with a nice snapshot. He’s got a nice offensive touch to his game after putting up 19 goals and 61 points in 60 games last year.

Healey would take a tripping penalty to prevent the Oilers from tying the game as Edmonton would go back to the powerplay. The Oilers would get the game tied up when Chad Butcher buried a rebound off the end boards behind Parsons who had lost the puck after making the initial save. It was a whacky one and the game was even at 1.

Calgary would get their own powerplay after Healey was hit from behind sending Calgary to their third powerplay. The Flames would be unable to score on this powerplay as well and the score stayed 1-1.

Calgary would take the 2-1 lead on a rush that started with Spencer Foo taking the puck at the Flames blue line. He’d pass it up to Mangiapane who’d drop the puck into Jankowski’s wheelhouse in the slot and he’d put a wicked wrist shot in the top corner.

The second period would conclude with Calgary ahead of Edmonton 2-1 and shots 17-16 in favor of the Flames.

Second Period Thoughts

• Valimaki’s shot is deadly
• Hunter Smith was not a good use of a second round pick
• Edmonton looked to play better than Calgary in the period
• Didn’t see as much in the period from the Jankowski line other than the late goal
• Rasmus Andersson has been all over the ice despite taking a couple penalties

3rd Period

Edmonton would get the game tied up early in the third period when Chad Butcher took advantage of the Flames getting caught up in the offensive. He would get a breakaway and bury it for his second goal of the game to tie it at 2-2.

Just moments later Edmonton would take a 3-2 lead with Evan Polei deflecting a shot from the point between Parsons legs.

Then Edmonton would score another goal shortly after with Kirill Maksimov finding the puck in the slot and whipping it past Parsons and just like that it’s 4-2 Edmonton.

Parsons would make a few nice saves to rebound after three quick Oiler goals which is encouraging. Spencer Foo would take his second offensive zone penalty of the game to send Edmonton back to the powerplay. Calgary would kill it off again though.

Calgary would get a few late chances with the goalie pulled but would be unable to beat Dylan Wells. 4-2 Edmonton is the final score.

Third Period Thoughts

• Edmonton’s second goal game from Adam Ollas-Mattsson missing an open net and leaving the Edmonton player open, and the third goal came from Ollas-Mattsson losing his man in front who made the deflection
• The Oilers dominated the majority of the period
• Parsons rebounded nicely after the Oiler goals

Overall Game Thoughts

• Zach Fischer didn’t make any big plays but was a continual pest in the Oilers’ side, good look for the 2017 pick
• Calgary just lulled at the start of the third but the rest of the game was alright
• The Mangiapane-Jankowski-Foo line looked pretty good but really excelled in the first period
• Parsons made some good saves but probably would’ve liked to have a couple of those goals back
• Hunter Smith wasn’t noticeable despite this being his fourth tournament
• Adam Ollas Mattsson struggled to adapt to the North American ice as he looked to lose his man during the game and was out of position
• Matthew Phillips used his speed on some rushes but couldn’t get any great chances

The next game will go on Sunday when the Flames take on the Canucks at 3:00pm MT.