Calgary Flames Game Day 41: A very short homestand against the Senators (7pm MT)

On the heels of a four game road trip that saw them win twice, the Calgary Flames (17-18-5, 39 points) are back at home… for one game! They host the Ottawa Senators (14-21-0, 28 points), then immediately hit the road for two more games. Can the Flames get back to the .500 mark? Or will they have trouble with another team a fair ways below themselves in the league standings?

The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan. The Flames opened as -135 favourites against the Senators on Betway.

Projected lines courtesy Daily Faceoff:

Huberdeau – Lindholm – Sharangovich
Zary – Kadri – Pospisil
Mangiapane – Backlund – Coleman
Greer – Ruzicka – Duehr

Hanifin – Tanev
Andersson – Weegar
Kuznetsov – DeSimone

We’re projecting Jacob Markstrom to start in net, backed up by Dan Vladar. Based on Pat Steinberg’s reporting from morning skate, projected extras look to be Dillon Dube, Jordan Oesterle and Dennis Gilbert. (Gilbert’s on the active roster, but reportedly didn’t take part in morning skate.) Yan Kuznetsov was called up again on Tuesday morning and looks to be playing, while Dube gets sat as a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

The Flames are coming off two of their more disappointing efforts of the season, getting out-played for two periods by a pretty good Philadelphia Flyers team on Saturday and then having no answer for a very lean Chicago Blackhawks club on Sunday afternoon. The Flames are near the playoff mix, but they can’t afford to have bad outings against teams below them in the standings.

And while the Senators are below them in the standings, the Flames have won just three of their last 10 meetings with them (going 3-5-2). They need a good 60 minutes to get back to the .500 mark and set themselves up for the rest of the month before the All-Star Break.

Projected lines courtesy Daily Faceoff:

Tkachuk – Norris – Joseph
Giroux – Stuetzle – Batherson
Kubalik – Greig – Tarasneko
Kelly – Kastelic – MacEwen

Chychrun – Sanderson
Chabot – Zub
Brannstrom – Hamonic

The Senators have been rotating goalies lately, so we’re expecting to see Joonas Korpisalo in net, backed up by Anton Forsberg. Their projected scratch is Jacob Bernard-Docker. Mathieu Joseph returns against the Flames after missing time due to an injury.

This is the fourth game of a five game road trip for the Senators. They’ve lost three games thus far – to Seattle, Vancouver and Edmonton – and then head to Buffalo after playing the Flames. The Senators are a lean bunch, they’re missing some key bodies, and they’re looking for traction in the standings. Right now, they’re in the Eastern Conference’s basement.

The Flames are without Oliver Kylington and Dennis Gilbert.

The Senators are without Shane Pinto and Rourke Chartier.

This is the finale of their two game season series. The Flames lost to Ottawa by a 4-1 score in Kanata back in November.