FLAMES SNAPSHOTS: Season-opener intense, but no shenanigans

“No surprises at all, it’s been smooth,” Flames head coach Geoff Ward said. “The NHL’s done a good job with its protocols and preparing things for teams to be on the road. It’s been smooth, the guys have enjoyed being on the road after not being on the road for a long time.”

According to Sean Monahan, the biggest difference might have been a team dinner at the hotel on Wednesday night instead of the players going out for dinner.

“It’s a little different, but we went through the bubble. We know what to expect,” Monahan said. “It’s a different world right now and our team’s adjusted to it well.

“It’s team meals in the hotel and, I mean, just as good. You’re going to be a lot closer with your team, you’re going to be with them every day.

ICE CHIPS

The Flames’ first shot of the season came from Milan Lucic … Rasmus Andersson came about as close as you can come to scoring about eight minutes into the first period. It would have given the Flames a 2-0 lead. Former Flames defenceman Derek Forbort slid across the ice to miraculously keep the puck out of the Jets’ net. Seconds later, Patrick Laine scored for the Jets on a breakaway at the other end. If you ever wanted proof of how thin the margins are in an NHL game, you got it with that sequence … Andersson looked extremely comfortable jumping in on rushes … He got credit for a secondary assist, but Chris Tanev did a tonne of good work on the Flames’ third goal of the evening, scored by Elias Lindholm. Dillon Dube’s forecheck was impressive, too … The Flames outshot the Jets 13-6 in the first period and it felt like that margin could have been even bigger. The gulf between the teams in the first 20 minutes was sizable … In the second, that was largely reversed. The Flames went into the period up 3-1 and left it tied 3-3, but that doesn’t tell the full story. The Jets scored on the first shift of the period and after Sean Monahan fired a wrister at Connor Hellebuyck at the 15:30 mark, the Flames went almost 14 minutes without registering another shot. Joakim Nordstrom did have a shorthanded breakaway in there, but he missed the net … There was a shift in the third period where Sam Bennett looked every bit as menacing offensively as he said he aspires to be this season during training camp. If the Flames can get more of that, a lot of people in Calgary are going to be very happy … Markstrom stood on his head in the third period. If there were Flames fans who needed convincing that he was, you know, good at stopping hockey pucks, he definitely provided proof.

daustin@postmedia.com

www.twitter.com/DannyAustin_9