For Travis Hamonic, Monday's pre-season contest with the Calgary Flames was like ripping off a band-aid.
"If fans could fast forward to the end of the season, they probably would too," said the team's new defenceman, referring to the team's sloppy, error-filled, 5-4 split-squad loss to the Edmonton Oilers which opened the 2017-18 National Hockey League pre-season.
It was the 27-year-old's first skate with his new team, and no one should be shocked that TJ Brodie and him looked fairly discombobulated in their debut together.
And they weren't alone.
"You can practice all you want, but you can't replicate game situations," Hamonic said.