Flames Fall In Abbotsford

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — They stayed in the fight, but in the end, an early deficit was too much to overcome, as the Flames suffered their first road setback of the preseason in a 3-1 loss to the Canucks.

Connor Zary scored the Calgary goal in a contest in which special teams played an important role - three of the four goals Wednesday came on powerplays.

Ivan Prosvetov went the distance in goal for the Flames, making 28 saves, while Joel Farabee and Martin Pospisil chipped in with assists.

The Canucks led 2-0 through 20 minutes of play, going ahead on a Nils Hoglander powerplay goal at the five-minute mark.

Victor Mancini extended the lead two minutes later when he found time and space in the slot to beat a prone Prosvetov.

The Flames had four shots on goal in the opening frame, the attack driven by the line of Martin Pospisil, Zary and Rory Kerins. The trio ground down the Vancouver defence with a good spell of pressure late in the frame, a run that led to a good effort from the point by Etienne Morin and a drawn penalty.

Special teams continued to be a factor in period two.

Filip Chytil extended the Canucks’ lead at 12:56 on the man-advantage, but the Flames got a powerplay of their own a minute later, and they cashed in.

Farabee glided to the high slot, put a puck on goal that was tipped by Pospisil, and Zary - at the right point - was there to scoop up the change, shoveling the disc past Thatcher Demko for his first goal of the preseason.

Prosvetov was the busier of the two starting netminders, facing 21 shots on goal over the first 40 minutes. But the Flames newcomer provided a few moments of brilliance over the middle stanza.

He robbed Chytil on a breakaway, as the Vancouver centre tried to outwait - and outwit - Prosvetov by reaching past his right pad, but the Calgary puck-stopper coolly stayed with the play, extending his leg to keep the puck at bay moments before turning to his left to stop Max Sasson after he was set loose on a crisp, cross-zone pass from Arshdeep Bains.

Then, at the end of the period, Prosevtov turned away a sequence of shots with each leg, all while sitting prone in his crease, his legs extended forward in a V-shape to cover as much of the blue paint as possible.

At the other end, Nikita Tolopilo relieved Demko to start period three, and he made a highlight-reel stop himself midway through the stanza. On a Flames powerplay, Andrew Basha zipped a hard cross-ice pass from the left wing that Dryden Hunt forcefully one-timed on goal, but Tolopilo made the initial stop, then pulled the loose puck off the goalline with a glove hand as it trickled perilously close to the net.

The Lineup:

FORWARDS

Connor Zary - Rory Kerins - Martin Pospisil

Joel Farabee - Sam Morton - Sam Honzek

Andrew Basha - Clark Bishop - Dryden Hunt

Aydar Suniev - Carter King - Hunter Laing

DEFENCE

Joel Hanley - Hunter Brzustewicz

Jake Bean - Jeremie Poirier

Etienne Morin - Daniil Miromanov

GOALTENDERS

Ivan Prosvetov

Devin Cooley

They Said It:

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 20, VAN 31

Powerplay: CGY 1-5, VAN 2-4

Up Next:

The Flames will continue their three-game, Western preseason tour Saturday evening in Winnipeg, with a clash against the Jets at 6 p.m. MT.

The next home action for the Flames will come October 1, when they host the Canucks in their penultimate preseason game at 7 p.m. MT. CLICK FOR TICKETS