Practice Notebook - 28.02.24

After a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings Tuesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome, the boys hit the ice at WinSport Wednesday for a high energy practice.

Jacob Markstrom did not skate (maintenance) while Andrei Kuzmenko, who has missed the last two games due to illness, alternated with Jakob Pelletier during line rushes and drills.

The following lines and pairings were used:

FORWARDS

Connor Zary - Nazem Kadri - Martin Pospisil

Jonathan Huberdeau - Yegor Sharangovich - Dryden Hunt

Andrew Mangiapane - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman

Jakob Pelletier/Andrei Kuzmenko - Kevin Rooney - Walker Duehr

DEFENCE

MacKenzie Weegar - Rasmus Andersson

Noah Hanifin - Chris Tanev

Oliver Kylington - Brayden Pachal

Dennis Gilbert - Jordan Oesterle

GOALTENDERS

Dan Vladar

Barbs In Action

With the Flames needing an extra netminder for the skate, goaltender coach Jason LaBarbera strapped on the pads one more time. He’ll definitely have bragging rights over some players, after making a handful of eye-catching saves.

He’s still got it.

“Cap hit is manageable but he’s not very good and hopefully we never have to use him,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska joked. “He’s a good goaltender. This year … whenever he gets an opportunity I think he would like to go out.

“We made the choice to keep Jacob off the ice today and it was either Dusty or Barbs and Barbs decided he wanted to go out today.”

In It Together

Andrew Mangiapane mentioned it after the win last night that everyone is playing for each other.

With the roll the Flames are on, the vibes are high with lots of smiles and laughs but also a strong work ethic, pushing each other to further elevate their games and keep the win streak going.

“We’re playing some inspiring hockey to each other,” Nazem Kadri said. “You go out there, one line after another continues to build momentum, Marky makes huge saves and it just brings the incentive up a bit. You want to go out there and you don’t want to let anyone down, so you make sure to bring your A-game.

“With how its structured, we roll lines and put everyone out there and I think everyone can make a steady contribution.”

Kipper Night

The squad won’t hit the ice for a game until Saturday, the same night that 34 is set to be raised to ‘Dome rafters.

A night that has been marked on fans calendars, it very well could provide a boost of energy before puck drop against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“A lot of the guys that are still here were part of Jarome’s (jersey retirement) you see the emotion in the building and you see from the ceremony with how people speak about Kipper in this situation, there is emotion that comes with it.

“When you talk about the Calgary Flames you hear about Lanny, Jarome and Kipper, those are the names people often talk about so everyone is very familiar what he did for this team. There was a lot of talk of how he had the ability to put the team on his back and win the game on his own so people know all about him.”