CALGARY - Andrew Mangiapane is making his mark early on this season.
The 23-year-old was elevated to the second line with Matthew Tkachuk and Mikael Backlund mid-way through Tuesday's 4-3 OT setback to the LA Kings and slid seamlessly into the fold. On Wednesday, he remained on the line through the team's practice at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Mangiapane has been impressive when it comes to driving the play early on this season, posting a 65.22% even-strength SAT (also known as Corsi-For percentage). That leads the Flames through their first three games of the year and comes with approximately 59% of Mangiapane's even-strength zone starts coming in the defensive zone, as per the NHL's enhanced stats.
"He's been good," head coach Bill Peters said. "He got bumped up into that spot against Vancouver and we responded and became better. He did the same thing last night - he got bumped up again and that line became a very effective line so we'll definitely leave him there for the start of the road trip."
LINEUP NOTES - 09.10.19
Lines and pairings from Wednesday's skate at the Scotiabank Saddledome

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