The Calgary Flames are hoping for a win as they face the Edmonton Oilers in their home opener on Friday.
The Flames opened the 2016-17 season against the Oilers on Wednesday at the new Rogers Place arena, losing 7-4.
“I don’t think that was the way that anybody drew it up,” Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan said on Wednesday. “We all have shared responsibility. We all need to be better.”
Alex Chiasson, Troy Brouwer, Michael Frolik, and Dennis Wideman scored for the Flames – while goalie Brian Elliott made 21 saves on 27 shots.
Elliot described the game as “one of those nights where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.”
“That’s not the way you want to start the season,” he said. “The good thing is we have these guys back at home and we’ll get back to the drawing board.”
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. MST.
‘It’s an exciting day:’ Sean Monahan
In anticipation of the big game, Scott Fee from Global News Morning was live on location at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday, where he spoke with alternate captain Sean Monahan.
“It’s an exciting day,” Monahan said. “Tonight’s a big test for us.”
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to compete when you get on the ice.”
“The new guys we brought in are really going to help our team. It’s exciting – to have these guys joins us, it’s going to be great here for the team.”
Monahan said he’s feeling stronger on the ice and more confident.
“I think as a player, you just want to continually get better throughout the season.”
WATCH: Scott Fee speaks with Sean Monahan about the Calgary Flames’ Friday home opener against the Edmonton Oilers.
Glen Gulutzan prepared for high-energy game
Calgary Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan said there’s a “lot of energy usually in home openers.”
“Especially, us coming from Edmonton… lot of energy in that game. Tonight is going to be the same thing.”
After Friday’s game, the Flames will be heading to Vancouver for their home opener.
“It’s not ideal that you get three home openers in four nights,” Gulutzan admitted.
Friday will mark the team’s second game with Gulutzan as the head coach.
WATCH: Scott Fee speaks with Calgary Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan about Friday’s home opener against the Edmonton Oilers.
‘It never gets old’: Martin Gelinas
Calgary Flames assistant coach Martin Gelinas said the excitement and anticipation of a home opener “never gets old.”
“They’re always special – we’re looking forward to it.”
“What’s exciting about our team – we’ve got a lot of very young players that are going to be very, very good in this league for a long time.”
WATCH: Scott Fee speaks with Calgary Flames assistant coach Martin Gelinas about Friday’s home opener against the Edmonton Oilers.
Retro night! Wear your old-school Calgary Flames apparel
The Calgary Flames will be wearing their retro jerseys when they take to the ice on Friday.
“We have a great selection of new retro products,” director of retail Brent Gibbs said. “It’s very popular.”
The team will again don their retro apparel on Saturday, Oct. 22 when they battle the St. Louis Blues.
WATCH: Scott Fee speaks with Calgary Flames director of retail Brent Gibbs about the various retro Calgary Flames shirts, hats and jerseys available for fans to purchase.
Flames equipment manager ready for the big game
Equipment manager Mark DePasqual was busy preparing for the game, showing off the different blade each player uses.
“There’s different sizes, different profiles, different hollows – which is the sharpness of the blade.”
“You can’t put Johnny Gaudreau’s blade in Sean Monahan’s skate – just won’t fit – but if somebody blows an edge, like Mark Giordano – who blows quite a bit – you’ve got to change it so nobody misses a shift.”
WATCH: Scott Fee speaks with Calgary Flames equipment manager Mark DePasqual about preparations for Friday’s home opener against the Edmonton Oilers.
Oilers rivalry good for ticket sales
Calgary Flames vice president of sales Rollie Cyr admits the organization has been impacted by the province’s economic downturn.
“We’ve certainly seen a change-over in terms of our season ticket holders,” Cyr said. “No question the rebirth of the Oilers rivalry is good for us.”
WATCH: Scott Fee speaks with Calgary Flames vice president of sales Rollie Cyr about how Alberta’s current economic climate impacts ticket sales.
With files from The Canadian Press
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