In arguably their first major slump of the 2018-19 campaign, the Western Conference leading Calgary Flames (34-16-7, 75 points) are trying to get their groove back today. And what better way to do that than with a matinee against the powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins (30-20-7, 67 points), a team that handed them their backsides back in October.
It’s an early one! The game starts at 11 a.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan!

The Flames

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Bennett – Jankowski – Czarnik
Mangiapane – Ryan – Hathaway
Giordano – Brodie
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Andersson
Mike Smith starts for the Flames, backed up by David Rittich. Dalton Prout and Curtis Lazar are the projected healthy scratches. James Neal will not be available.
For the first time since the beginning of January – and the first time since December not involving an injury – Smith gets consecutive starts. He was quite good in Florida and definitely deserves to be back in, but the coaching staff will have to find a way to keep both goalies active. At this point, though, whoever gets wins probably stays in.
The Flames have lost four in a row and need a win. They need roughly six of those to clinch a playoff spot.

The Penguins

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Guentzel – Crosby – Rust
Kessel – Malkin – Bjugstad
Blueger – McCann – Hornqvist
Aston-Reese – Cullen – Wilson
Dumoulin – Letang
Johnson – Schultz
Pettersson – Ruhwedel
Matt Murray starts for the Penguins, backed up by Casey DeSmith. The scratches are Juuso Riikola, Dominik Simon and Tanner Pearson. Evgeni Malkin returns from his suspension, while Justin Schultz returns from injury.
The Penguins probably endeared themselves to Flames fans with their win over the Edmonton Oilers earlier this week, but they’ve been a weirdly inconsistent group for having such a absurdly talented roster. Some of their challenges have come via injuries (off and on) to Murray, but the team’s also not quite found the type of momentum that they have had in recent years.
That said, they’re the freakin’ Penguins and they’re quite dangerous and can demolish the opposition on any given night. But given how their most recent meeting went, the Flames probably know that.

The Numbers

CGY
PIT
Wins
34
30
Points
75
67
Adjusted Corsi
52.5%
50.0%
Power Play
22.4%
23.2%
Penalty Kill
79.2%
82.2%

Injury Report

The Flames are without Michael Stone and James Neal.
The Penguins are without Olli Maatta

Season Series

This is the second and final game of their season series. The Penguins crushed the Flames 9-1 at the Saddledome back in October.

Know Thy Enemy

Your Penguins Twitter follows for tonight:

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