CALGARY -- The last time the Winnipeg Jets saw the Calgary Flames they were shaking their hands after the Flames beat them 4-0 in game four of the summer play in series.
The Flames took out down the Jets in four games, and the losing that series still stings for Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
He says he’ll use it as motivation when the two teams face each other on Thursday night in Winnipeg.
“Being in that series - and I’m still bitter about it to this day," Hellebuyck said, "because I want to win and they ruined our chances at a Stanley Cup. So for me personally I’m going to use it as motivation.”
That series had a lot of bad blood and Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk was right in the middle of a lot of it.
Tkachuk is looking forward to facing the Jets in the season opener but says he doesn’t think he’ll get any extra attention on Thursday night.
“I’m expecting to go in there and whatever happens happens,” Tkachuk said.
“I’m just excited to be back playing and expect them to be fired up and not happy with the way things went for them in the summer. So I expect it to be a very intense hard fought game.”
The Flames haven’t had a lot of success in season openers of late. Their record over the last 10 seasons is 0-9-0-1.
But that’s all in the past and Flames head coach Geoff Ward believes his team will be ready to kick the season off on the right foot.
“The mood around the group is good,” Ward said.
“They’re ready and they’re looking forward to the game. Now it’s time to play for real and everybody is looking forward to it and we’ve been waiting a long time for it.”
Puck drop for Thursday night’s game is 6:00 Calgary time. The Flames then return home for a four game homestand.
