May 03--Things were going swimmingly at the Calgary Flames' practice Saturday at Anaheim Ice, but not in the way they had hoped.
Several minutes after they began skating, they collected all the pucks, pulled everyone off the ice and ordered the Zamboni back out to remove puddles from the surface.
"California's beautiful. You get a swimming lesson first and then you get the practice," Coach Bob Hartley said. "That's why you come to California. But there were no sharks."
The Flames survived and plan to rebound from their series-opening 6-1 loss in Game 1 with new resolve and possibly a few lineup changes. Hartley said he will make a game-time decision on defenseman Raphael Diaz, who practiced Saturday alongside David Schlemko. Hartley previously said he will start goaltender Karri Ramo instead of Jonas Hiller, who was yanked early in the second period of Game 1.
Players said they had put Thursday's thrashing behind them.
"Guys were still excited to come to the rink. Nobody's down. Nobody's discouraged," forward Brandon Bollig said. "We're hungry to come out [Sunday] and redeem ourselves."
Hartley said he's hopeful forward Micheal Ferland, injured during the first period Thursday, will play Sunday. He also said high-scoring forward Jiri Hudler, who didn't play after taking a few shifts early in the second period, "is good. We always tell you the truth," he said, drawing laughter from reporters.
Calgary captain Mark Giordano, who underwent supposedly season-ending biceps surgery two months ago, practiced Saturday but was permitted only limited contact.
"Happy to take maybe another little step here, getting closer," the stalwart defenseman said.
helene.elliott@latimes.com
