After the first 20 minutes, I was not expecting this to be a fun game.
Draisaitl is a very good player, but McDavid is a total game-changer when he's on the ice. The play of both teams pretty much revolves around what he's doing. Guy is a total mutant.
Beyond those two dudes though, that team is utter weaksauce. Thank goodness they didn't figure out a way to pick up Markstrom in the offseason and are stuck with a dude who's missing a couple of fingers on his glove hand.
Still, nice to see the Flames finally up their give-a-#### level. As others have said, Backlund, Gaudreau, Dube, and Lucic were real standouts in that department. Game 10 of the season series should be a total gong show if tonight is any indication. There's already a healthy level of hate there.
I still don't like the blasty jerseys (though they suit Bennett for some reason), and the first period brought back some bad memories, but I'm glad they started off their renaissance with a hard fought win.
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