"The shoulder separation suffered by Matt Stajan during the opening night of the pre-season will show whether Mikael Backlund is indeed ready for prime time. That's about the best news the Calgary Flames can take from the injury wave which as ripped through their men in the middle. Stajan is "out indefinitely," the Flames announced Wednesday, which will be a big blow to a squad already without fellow centre Daymond Langkow, due to his neck injury. So it appears the Flames will be without their expected second- and third-line centres when the NHL season opens Oct. 7 in Edmonton against the host Oilers. The benefactor will unquestionably be Backlund, who was expected to push for a roster spot with the Flames to start the season but was hardly guaranteed it due to the club's depth at forward and -- more importantly -- the salary-cap crunch. Flames head coach Brent Sutter said the 2007 first-round draft choice will take the second-line duty for now, and Backlund, 21, is raring to go. "Getting a lot of opportunities and getting a lot of confidence from the coach makes me feel a lot better. It makes me more confident," said Backlund, who played 23 NHL games last season and collected one goal and 10 points. "Everybody wants to play more, and if you get a lot of chances, it makes you happy. I'm really excited (at the opportunity)." In theory, Backlund's linemates will be Rene Bourque and Niklas Hagman, but Hagman missed Wednesday's practice due to what the club called "general maintenance." " http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Calgary/2010/09/22/15442881.html
