Flames fall to Canucks in NHL season opener

Inside the Saddledome, you got the sense all eyes were on Calgary Flames rookie Johnny Gaudreau.
 Heck, the 21-year-old offensive whiz-kid scored the biggest roar — a wee bit louder than the cheers for captain Mark Giordano or sophomore sniper Sean Monahan — in the pre-game introductions.
Turns out, Vancouver Canucks netminder Ryan Miller was paying close attention to the kid, too. Gaudreau didn’t dazzle and didn’t disappoint, either, in a 4-2 loss to the Canucks in Wednesday’s season-opener at the Saddledome, but he provided a great decoy for fellow 5-footer Paul Byron on the Flames’ first strike of the new campaign.
The undersized speedsters turned on the jets on a two-on-one early in the second period and, with both Miller and Canucks rearguard Chris Tanev seemingly guarding against a cross-crease feed to Gaudreau, Byron whistled a wrister through the wickets.
“I was looking to pass to Johnny, but I saw the D-man was giving me all the lane to walk in,” Byron said. “I just tried to make eye contact with Johnny to throw Ryan off and just threw a shot five-hole.”