Saturday, September 15, 2018

Last Night's Preseason Performers (Sep 15)



Believe it or not, it's finally hockey season!

The preseason officially kicked off with the first of two games in China, showcasing the talents of the NHL to the broad market over the Pacific Ocean and the NHL sent the Bruins and Flames as their show pieces.  It was a 12:30am MT start for the Calgary market, so for those who stayed up, it looks like you got a little bit of a game.

The Bruins didn't have their best squad out for this one, as injury, age and visa issues didn't allow them to take the roster that the league likely wanted them to have, but they were still good enough to get a 4-3 shootout victory over their travelling rivals on Saturday morning/night.

The Bruins leapt out to a 3-0 lead, just past the 15-minute mark of the opening frame, leaving the Flames to claw their way back, tying the game with under a minute to go.  Overtime solved nothing, but a 4-skater shootout, with Jake DeBrusk icing the game, got the job done for the Bruins and that was that.

As is tradition with the preseason posts, I pick out the multiple point players in the game as the notable players, which may or may not sway your projections, as we draw closer and closer to the hockey pool draft.  For the winning side, rookie forward Ryan Donato finished with a goal and an assist in the game and it was a sophomore forward, Peter Cehlarik drawing a couple of helpers as well.  Jaroslav Halak made 40 saves for the victory, standing tall against a more experienced Flames side.  For the Flames, Mark Giordano scored a pair in the 3rd period, including the late tying goal to lead the way for the Flames, while Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm each chipped in with a couple of helpers.

The second and last China game isn't set to go until Wednesday morning, a 5:30am MT start, which could be a little bit better for those who want to take the morning off to watch, before heading to work.

No comments: