Friends, this one is gonna be good. A pair of divisional foes will clash with a lot at stake for both clubs. The Calgary Flames (36-26-7, 79 points) are trying to keep their momentum going as they try to cement their playoff status. They’re hosting the Vegas Golden Knights (37-24-8, 82 points), currently tied for the division lead, who’ve kept chugging along this season after a bit of an uneven start to things.
The action starts just after 5 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan. On the TV side, regular colour commentator Cassie Campbell-Pascall will be joined by guest play by play commentator Leah Hextall in an all-female booth.

The Flames

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Mangiapane – Backlund – Tkachuk
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Lucic – Ryan – Dube
Bennett – Jankowski – Rinaldo
Giordano – Brodie
Hanifin – Andersson
Forbort – Gustafsson
David Rittich starts for the Flames, backed up by Cam Talbot. The projected extras are Michael Stone, Oliver Kylington and Tobias Rieder.
With three extra bodies who haven’t gotten in for a couple weeks – soon to be four when Travis Hamonic is back soon – interim head coach Geoff Ward chatted a bit on Saturday about the balancing act that goes into selecting a lineup down the stretch:
No question about it. But those are the kind of decisions you want to have this time of year. If you’re beat up you don’t have to make those types of decisions, or if you don’t have the depth you don’t have to make those types of decisions. So the fact that we have to make them is good. But the confidence that the group is feeling is important, but also the energy that the guys potentially have that haven’t been in for awhile, that also can play a really key role for us. You got to sorta balance those things out and they all go into our discussions when we’re trying to decide what a lineup is.
The Flames have won three games in a row. This is the final game of their current seven game segment; so far they’re 4-1-1. If they win this game in regulation, they’ll be a point away from top spot in the Pacific Division.
They are masters of their own destiny.

The Golden Knights

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Marchessault – Stastny – Smith
Pacioretty – Karlsson – Roy
Pirri – Stephenson – Cousins
Carrier – Nosek – Reaves
McNabb – Schmidt
Martinez – Theodore
Holden – Whitecloud
Robin Lehner starts for Vegas, backed up by Marc-Andre Fleury. The projected healthy extras are (Forever A Flame) Deryk Engelland and Jon Merrill.
The Golden Knights are missing a few key bodies and lost 4-0 to Winnipeg back on Friday. But hey, they’re still tied for first place and while their inconsistency would have normally sunk them, they’re very much at home in the wonky Pacific Division. They have the capacity to trounce any team if they’re on their game.

The Numbers

Flames
Golden
Knights
Wins
36
37
Points
79
82
Adjusted Corsi
50.4%
54.5%
Power Play
20.8%
21.3%
Penalty Kill
82.6%
77.0%

The total has gone OVER in 10 of Calgary’s last 14 games. – OddsShark.com

Injury Report

The Flames are without D Juuso Valimaki (ACL surgery) and D Travis Hamonic (upper body).
The Golden Knights are missing F Alex Tuch (leg) and F Mark Stone (lower body).

When Last We Met

This is the third of four games between these teams this season. The Flames lost both of the first two meetings, both in Vegas, by a combined 12-2 score. The season series concludes on April 2 in Calgary.

Know Thy Enemy

Here are some key Twitter peeps to follow for tonight: