Two Canadian teams clash in a potential playoff preview on Hockey Day in Canada. The Calgary Flames (34-15-5, 73 points) head to the coast to visit the surprising Vancouver Canucks (24-24-7, 55 points). A Canucks win would push them into a playoff spot, while a Flames win would push them one step closer to clinching a playoff berth.
The action kicks off at 8 p.m. MT on CBC, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet One, City TV and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.
For a view from the other side, check out Canucks Army!
The Flames
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Bennett – Jankowski – Neal
Mangiapane – Ryan – Hathaway
Giordano – Brodie
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Andersson
David Rittich starts for the Flames, backed up by Mike Smith. Dalton Prout and Austin Czarnik are the projected healthy scratches
The Flames have lost two of their three games since the All-Star Break. They’ve been in all three games, but they arguably have yet to put together a complete game where all their lines are contributing. Against a team that just seems to get under their skin, expect the Flames to be emotionally invested from the opening puck drop.
The Canucks
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Granlund – Horvat – Leivo
Goldobin – Pettersson – Boeser
Roussel – Sutter – Virtanen
Eriksson – Beagle – Motte
Tanev – Gudbranson
Hutton – Stecher
Pouliot – Biega
Jacob Markstrom starts for Vancouver, backed up by Michael DiPietro. Guillaume Brisebois and Tim Schaller are the projected healthy scratches.
The Canucks have played four games since the break. They beat Colorado in a very one-sided game and have followed that up with three pretty close losses against Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago. They’re a young, inexperienced group that’s full of piss and vinegar, but sometimes can’t quite execute when games are on the line. But they’re a fast, talented team that will be a challenge for the Flames.
The Numbers
| CGY | VAN | |
| Wins | 34 | 24 |
| Points | 73 | 55 |
| Adjusted Corsi | 52.5% | 47.2% |
| Power Play | 22.9% | 16.8% |
| Penalty Kill | 79.2% | 78.9% |
Injury Report
The Flames are without Michael Stone.
The Canucks are without Sven Baertschi, Thatcher Demko and Alexander Edler.
Season Series
This is the third of five games between Calgary and Vancouver. The Flames have a regulation win, an overtime loss and a regulation loss so far. They’ll close out the season series in Vancouver in mid-March.
Know Thy Enemy
Your Canucks Twitter follows for tonight:
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Come on boys I need a win.
Flames will win one for our “finest” Californian fan!
Hey SF, just heading over on the ferry. Damn is it windy and cold!
Thanks for bringing the Artic air with you! See you soon..
I was gonna go to the game haven’t went in so long but them but I’m going to move the trip to Calgary to watch them embarrass oilers in April
Did you make it safely; reading on the news that many of the ferries are closed. Be safe story teller.(maybe there will be story from this trip to share)
I can’t freaking wait! Excitement level 11. First time attending a game since the Iggy era (9 years ago).
Can’t wait to meet up with a few fine members of this community! If I’m correct, there will be 4 of us from here? SF, OTW, The Fall (?), and myself? Hope we can put on a show for SF/MF, what a huge commitment over the last week.
Don’t forget Mrs. Finest, she may be confused about her favourite team but I am sure she is a Heat fan.
I wouldn’t dare… Mrs. Finest = MF
Yup. I’ll meet up for a beer or two. …have to meet my sister at the gate for the tickets.
Enjoy younlucky mofos
enjoy the game stockons finest. ill be there. buy u a beer if i c u ?
I really want to give Ron Maclean and all the cast of many others who are producing and presenting Hockey Day in Canada my thanks. The personal stories and tributes across such this vast land of a very frigid and frosty Canada today, has brought much warmth to those of us watching and listening in. Hockey brings great entertainment but we are all reminded it is just a game with real people and stories being written along that journey. The two different Bronco bus tragedies of 1986 and 2018 remind us to enjoy the moment and appreciate all that we have with one another. Enjoy the games today everyone.
Can’t imagine what would prompt someone to trash this.
Look forward to seeing how BSD bounces back from being given the hook last game. I’m betting he’s ready to go!
Am I alone when I say I have seen enough of Mangiapane to say he is not ready yet. I know Czarnik is not lights out, but I do feel he gives you more offensive options then Mangiapane.
Agree. He has done some things in the A but nothing in the NHL. I don’t see anything from him that impresses me. He’s weak on the puck, loses puck battles and looks a bit lost out there, some of the same things fans say about Czarnik, but for me, I want to see Czarnik get ten consistent games to see what he’s got. Mangi back to the farm.
It’s funny, in pre season the combo of Tkachuk and Czarnik looked amazing, then Czarnik’s play dropped off drastically. Still better than Mangiapane though.
The preseason was against AHL guys and at half a$$ pace and hitting. As soon as the men started playing, he disappeared.
Neither Mangi nor Czar should be on this NHL roster, I do however, believe that Mangipane finds a top 6 role on a rebuilding team and has a good run in the NHL. Trade bait.
It would be nice of they could get a useful fast physical winger for some combination involving the two of them. Not a big money guy and not a rental but a 25 year old solid bottom 6 guy. 6’3″, 210 lbs., average 10 goals and 13 assists per year, 3 years left on a $2.1 million cap hit.
It is pretty obvious that there is something fundamentally wrong with Czarnik and he does not fit with this team. The big question is why is he still on the roster? Certainly he could be put on waivers and make room for someone like Quine at a $500,000 cap space savings.
I would agree with half of this statement. At this point in his career I know where Mangiapne is in his development and it would not bother me in the least to see another forward up from the farm to see what they bring. At 26 I am also sure what Czarnik is not and that is player who can play in the bottom and especially not in the playoffs. He was brought in b/c they thought he could add some O in the top 6 and be a PP specialist; he’s had more opportunity in these roles than Mangiapane has (by the way Mnagiapne’s numbers in the AHL are similar at a younger age) and some others and has not produced. If Czarnik was going to click here he would have done so already. He’s the piece that the Flames need to move on from.
Czarnik & Mangiapane play different positions…..
Valid point, but I do believe Czarnik has played the wing as well this season.
Yes Czarnik has played left wing and was totally ineffective. Regardless I think he will be moved at the deadline.
Taking me 7yr old son to his first Hockey game tonight, He is so excited to go. I searched high and low to get him a Flames T-shirt in Vancouver… Vancouver sucks as far as finding Any Flames gear. But I did find him a generic adult “size Small”(still huge on him, lol) Grey with Flames written on it, although he was hoping for a Gaudreau T or Tkachuk and even said he wouldn’t mind a Giordano T-shirt too (Jerseys are just too dang expensive). Anyways, I really hope the Flames come out to play tonight and put on a clinic for the win. Hope the Van Fans around us aren’t complete obnoxious jerks. Go Flames~!
That’s great buddy. Waita get your little guy to his first game. I agree, tickets alone are ridiculous these days, but to put a jersey on top of that is crazy. If you see a guy in old school Flames whites (#39), lookout for high fives coming your way. Enjoy the game!
Yeah, I think the last game I saw here was … Well, I think Valeri Bure Scored for the Flames in OT… yeah its been a while… I’ll be wearing my “retro” Flames Home (red) #14 Fleury Jersey, although it wasen’t “retro” when I bought it in the 90s..lol Hope to see you and other FNers there! Cheers~!
I’d be shocked if Tre could convince Ottawa to take James Neal in a trade involving Mark Stone coming back.
I’m glad the top 3 in the Pacific is tightening up.
The last thing we need is to coast into the post season not having played a meaningful game in a month.
This pressure to perform is valuable; More valuable than finishing first in my opinion…..
WW
Agree WW, forces some of our less intense players to start feeling the playoff atmosphere. Backlund, Frolik, Mony, Brodie all need to step it up. Neal’s ability and contract are absolutely killing us both on the ice and ability to make a playoff move.
Ideal situation would be to lock up first place in the west with a win in the game against San Jose March 31. Three games left to rest any bumps and bruises give Stone some playing time if he is healthy and get a few call-ups some icetime.
If the Oilers give up a hat trick in Rogers place, is it ok if the Oilers fans throw their jerseys in with the hats….?
WW
Everybody relax. We absolutely outclassed them tonight.. sometimes you have to tip your hat to the goalie, he was spinning like a top all night. Shake it off and get the win in Tampa. That’ll cheer some of you up! ?
Not a chance this team beats TB if TB puts in a strong game
Because they played a really good game but came across a really good goalie? They play like that against Tampa and get timely saves they have a good shot at beating Tampa
This month is not looking good. This was a must win. San Jose will ahead of us in another week.
Dude, we say this EVERY year.
Yeah Tampa is gonna be easy win for sure yikes hopefully this doesnt spill into a losing streak
IVe got bad news. The flames aren’t as good as their record. Not sure if anyone is surprised by this or not, but it’s the truth
I can’t stand the Flames in a shootout for 2 reasons:
1) they suck at it
2)peters sucks at it. James Neal again??? Where the f is Lindholm?
Or Johnny!!!, his shot on the five hole was so slow Markstrom had both his stick down and his pads down.
The Flames need to come to work hard tonight. If both teams work at the same level then the Flames should win; unless Markstrom steals a game.
Or rittich!
You nailed it. Work ethic is the key tonight. If they come prepared to play 3 solid periods, we’re in good shape. Hard work is one thing the Canucks can bring, 9 times out of 10.
Wait, Granlund is on their top line? Benning sure made out better in those trades then we gave him credit for eh?
He definitely did, but having granlund anywhere in your top six also does not bode well for a team’s chances. . .
Having said that, this team tends to give us fits so the boys better be a lot more ready than the last three games.
That’s just it. Grany is ok at a lot of things, but he’s a place holder on that team. Most Canucks fans I’ve talked to are on the fence about Granlund, but you got to give him credit. He wouldn’t have stuck with the Flames for that long, but he’s had a good stretch there, and he’s a good soldier for that team.
Because since he is on the first line makes him a legit first line player? Like cagguila in Chicago or rattie/Lucia/Kassian in Edmonton
Eh. He was going nowhere on the Flames and they got Shinkaruk (who was doing really well in Utica at the time) in exchange. Shinkaruk didn’t pan out, but the gamble was still worth it.
Watching HNIC 2nd intermission and they show Elias Pettersson walking into the rink in Vancouver. He looks like a penis with ears.
The kid is a true pro on top of being a great player. Save this for the kassians and Lucics of the world.
No question he’s a talented player. However, the kid and his Dad are known to be primadonnas. Save the “true professional” description for those who have actually earned it! PS – you are right about Lucic and Kassian. They don’t belong in the league.
I laughed out loud a little bit… it that bad?
The good news. We aren’t playing a tough team nor are we playing a powerhouse team. So I expect Tkachuk Mony and Hathaway to be at least visible out there tonight. GFG
I’d like to see an entire team effort and absolute domination. Of course, I’d like to see that every game . . .
As many games as they’ve won this year, there’s been very few like that.
Boy I rarely hope for the Oilers but I hope they have a wonderful game tonight and win in regulation
I’ll second that.
Ironically they probably are hoping we win in regulation as well
Lately, the top line has been a bit sluggish, but it feels like the depth scoring is coming around and is hopefully about to break out. Maybe tonight? One can hope. If Neal Bennett and Jankowski can get on a bit of a roll and the 4th line continue to play well that will be huge and may compensate for the lesser production of the 1st line. Frolik and Tkachuk also need to kick it into gear again — they’ve been ‘meh’ these last few games.
Neal? Why not Lindholm? Well Markstrom won it for the Canucks. I’m starting to worry that the Sharks will overtake us with games against Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh looming.
Nice job Peters good choice putting out Neal. Leave hunches at black jack table. Pull Rittich after two against SJ. And now Neal your on a roll.
He needs his week in the sun like the rest of us to get his balance back. A little loco recently
Flames are trash and deserved this loss. Playing down to their opponent. Peters making some questionable decisions the last few games. James Neal is worse than Brouwer and Wideman. Rittich better not collapse again.
Chill out buddy. Breathe.
Flames didn’t play down to their opponent Markstrom rose up for the occasion. We dominated the game and if we play like that we will win way more than we lose just ran into a hot goaltender
Hahaha did you watch the game. So your saying badly outshooting and out playing an opponent is playing down to their level? This was purely on rittich was not great and markstrom was fantastic
Outshot them 47 to 25. Yeah they played down to their opponent, genius.
Wow! One mini tough stretch and the “fans” are suddenly questioning the coach, goaltending, the D, and everything else in between. Relax, the team deserved better tonight, if they continue to play like tonight they will be just fine!
Every team go through bad stretches when it seems like everything is going wrong and can’t catch a break, even the good teams. SJS were in a funk before the ASG break, Caps lost 7 straight not long ago and are 3-5-2 in their last 10, TBL is 5-3-2, Jets 5-4-1, PIT 3-6-1, VGK 4-6, and lost tonight, Preds haven’t been dominant, and the list goes on.