Flames Drop Preseason Opener

One down. 

But plenty for Flames brass to evaluate. 

In a matchup that featured heaps of roster hopefuls on both sides, Seattle's roster came away with the spoils in a 4-2 decision Sunday evening at the Scotiabank Saddledome in the first of Calgary's four preseason fixtures.

Logan Morrison's powerplay goal 11:59 into the third period broke the tie, while second-year pro Aydar Suniev provided the finishing touch on both Flames tallies.

The Kraken scored twice inside the first 10 minutes of the contest, but the locals asserted themselves well from there, battling back to tie before Seattle's decisive second man-advantage marker.

Suniev's Big Night:

In his second outing this month - he had the lone marker in Monday's Next Gen Showcase - Suniev showed out. He converted on a Sam Honzek setup in the first period, then snapped home his second goal of the preseason from the left circle in period three, a goal that at the time, evened the score at 2-2.

Suniev finished the contest with a team-high four shots on goal.

The Return Of Honzo:

In his first shift of NHL game action in 10 months, Honzek drilled Seattle's Carson Rehkopf. 

And he got better from there. The Slovak winger was flying around the Scotiabank Saddledome ice, finishing the contest with an assist over his 15:49 of work.

He set up Suniev's first-period goal after being robbed of an assist earlier in the frame when Seattle's Philipp Grubauer stoned Brennan Othmann's one-timer from the slot.

And his third-period chance at the back post just trickled wide, after Honzek was spotted in space by linemate Jonathan Castagna.

Stat Pack:

Shots: CGY 24, SEA 23

Powerplay: CGY 0-6, SEA 2-5

Faceoffs: CGY 52%, SEA 48%

Blocked Shots: CGY 10, SEA 17

Hits: CGY 32, SEA 16

Lines & Pairings:

FORWARDS

Alex Nylander - Rory Kerins - Matvei Gridin

Sam Honzek - Ben Jones - Dryden Hunt

William Stromgren - Tyson Gross - Andrew Basha

Brennan Othmann - Jonathan Castagna - Aydar Suniev

DEFENCE

Joel Hanley - Brayden Pachal

Yan Kuznetsov - Zayne Parekh

Abram Wiebe - Hunter Brzustewicz

GOALTENDERS

Devin Cooley 

Arsenii Sergeev

They Said It:

Coming soon.

What's Next:

The Flames welcome the Canucks Tuesday evening for the lone meeting of the preseason between the two sides, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. MT at the Scotiabank Saddledome. CLICK FOR TICKETS