WELCOME BACK!

There's plenty of history in this old barn.
It's been home to some of the game's greatest players, countless victories, unforgettable moments, milestones, and Cup runs, too.
But of the 42 home-openers ever to be played under the iconic paraboloid, this one stands alone.

Welcome home, Flames fans.
"It was a big part of me coming back here was the Saddledome and the fanbase," said Head Coach Darryl Sutter. "Not necessarily (those) in the building, but the fans you can talk to in the street.
"Not everybody can go to games, so that's unique and special to me.
"I've been lucky to me in places that you can have that attachment - that personal attachment - and that means a lot to me. But I also think the Saddledome's important, too. The Saddledome is one of the few unique buildings left and to me that's special.
"I was lucky to be part of the old Chicago Stadium and even in San Jose, that was an older one when you compare it to the standards and the age of the arenas in the league.
"They're all unique and have their own personality, and you want to be part of that."

On Saturday, the Flames opened the 2021-22 season with a spin up in Edmonton. The atmosphere was electric, "spectacular" - says the head coach - and was a great reminder of what makes this great game of ours truly one of a kind.
By now, you've heard all the different variations of the 'before time' - when COVID-19 was barely on our radar and packed stadiums were the norm.
So here we go, one last time:
March 8, 2020.
That was the last time the C of Red cheered their team on in a meaningful contest.
By the time the puck drops at 7:30 tonight, 589 days will have passed.
"It will be awesome," said Matthew Tkachuk, who usually runs on emotion and has missed the fans - arguably - more than anyone else in red. "It's been a while. It's been, what, a year and a half? So hopefully they're as excited as we are, that it's a packed house, and are ready to get loud. We're excited to have them and I'm sure they're excited to be back."
Tkachuk is ready to go.
The alternate captain was firing on all cylinders in Saturday's lid-lifter, peppering Oilers goalie Mike Smith a game-high nine shots on goal - including six on the Flames' dangerous-looking powerplay.
In all, the Flames put 47 pucks net, but lacked the finish required to topple their provincial rivals.
Tonight, against a Ducks team that is very publicly rebuilding, they'll need to capitalize on their chances.
There's too much elite - albeit raw - talent on the other side hoping to trade chances.
"I think that this year in particular, we have guys that know what their roles are and know what to expect out of themselves," Tkachuk said. "I know us two (Johnny Gaudreau) have to provide offence and be hard to play against, and we're going to be playing lots of minutes, so we have to be good on both sides of the puck.
"Just be a hard team, a quick-puck-movement team, a doesn't-give-up-much-type of team.
"And we've got to be disciplined.
"They scored a few powerplay goals on us last game, but all in all the rest of the game - it was pretty even. I could even argue that we were the better team 5-on-5, so if we stay that way, I think we'll be alright."
But first, the pageantry.
There's nothing else like it in sports.
The Flames Game Production team has an incredible show planned, including the debut of the new opening video, player intros, and the usual bells and whistles that come with Opening Night.
But that's only the beginning.
With 19,000 of you with us along for the ride, this night promises to be one for the history books.
"It's exciting," said Johnny Gaudreau, who played a team-high 23:57 against the Oilers. "It's going to be a special night.
"The nerves, maybe, right before the puck drops, but after that - you're playing another hockey game."