Two games left.
But even though it's preseason, it's always fun when Calgary and Vancouver get together.
For the Flames, it's the first of two tune-ups in front of the C of Red, a chance for the NHL group to get a feel for game action together, with the team down to 27 players - and one practice group - as of their on-ice session Tuesday afternoon.
Head coach Ryan Huska referred to this week as the 'hardest time of year,' one where tough roster decisions need to be made.
But the fact that there are young players like Matvei Gridin, Rory Kerins and Zayne Parekh pushing for roster places is encouraging, as well as a sign of organizational growth.
"We've talked at length of all the growth of this team is going to come from within," said Huska. "We need our younger players to really push and show that they're capable of playing, and we have had a couple of younger players ... they've made, you know, our decisions tougher.
"Because maybe when you pencil them in in the summertime in certain guys aren't quite there yet, but they've come and showed that, 'Yeah, we should be in this picture.'"
Gridin skated with veterans Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman at practice Tuesday; the 19-year-old has been a real focal point in each of the Flames' last two games, too, with two regulation-time tallies and a shootout decider to his name.
Jonathan Huberdeau, meanwhile, has taken youngsters Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato under his wing, too. The trio skated together Tuesday, offering intrigue at the potential for Coronato to showcase his shot with the help of two elite setup men.
"I think they're excited to play with me," Huberdeau joked.
"He's almost like their dad," Huska added with a laugh. "I think it's a role that Huby likes now, and he really he sees the type of players that those two young guys can be. He's been in situations where he's see a lot of different things, whether it's on the powerplay, whether it's 5-on-5 and so on, I think he can help walk them through some situations that they're going to face.
"So as a line, our hope is that Matty and Frosty will drive the pace on the line, and Huby's going to be the guy that's going to really kind of control the way the line works based on what those two guys are doing."
