Calgary Flames Game Day 45: But how does this affect the Leafs? (7pm MT)

Just 48 hours after beginning a six game homestand with a dramatic overtime comeback win, the Calgary Flames (21-18-5, 47 points) will host Canada’s most (and simultaneously least) favourite hockey club, the Toronto Maple Leafs (21-13-8, 50 points). The Flames are on a roll lately, while the Leafs are in a bit of a slump. Can the Flames keep their momentum rolling, or will the Leafs find a way to turn things around?

The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan. The Flames opened as +105 underdogs against the Maple Leafs on Betway.

Projected lines courtesy Daily Faceoff:

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

Hanifin – Tanev
Andersson – Weegar
Oesterle – DeSimone

We’re projecting Dan Vladar to start in net, backed up by Dustin Wolf. Projected extras appear to be just Adam Klapka, recalled from the AHL on Thursday morning. Jacob Markstrom remains on the active roster, but he remains unavailable.

The Flames have won four games in a row. Dating back to Christmas, they’re 7-3-0 in their past 10 games. In that span they’ve played pretty well, but a trio of players account for most of their goals: Blake Coleman (8), Yegor Sharangovich (7) and Nazem Kadri (7). Their lines haven’t quite dominated, but they’ve managed to be opportunistic offensively and stingy defensively.

Keep an eye on Mikael Backlund. He’ll be relied upon to shut down the Leafs’ top dogs and if he’s on his game, the Flames have a good shot at two points.

Projected lines courtesy Daily Faceoff:

Holmberg – Marner – Matthews
Knies – Tavares – Nylander
Bertuzzi – Domi – Jarnkrok
McMann – Kampf – Gregor

Rielly – Brodie
Benoit – McCabe
Giordano – Liljegren

We’re projecting Martin Jones to start in net, backed up by Ilya Samsonov. The projected extras are Nick Robertson, Conor Timmins and William Lagesson.

On one hand, the Leafs are a fantastic hockey team on paper. They boast three high-end forwards in Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander that make their fans joyous and their opposition green with envy. On the other hand, the rest of their team is what you get when you spend $40.5 million in cap space on those three forwards and captain John Tavares.

The Leafs have lost four in a row (0-3-1), including letting a 2-0 lead slip away on Tuesday in Edmonton. They’re a strong, capable offensive team. Defensively… they have some work to do.

The Flames are without Oliver Kylington, Dennis Gilbert and Jacob Markstrom.

The Maple Leafs are without Jake Muzzin, Matt Murray, John Klingberg, Ryan Reaves and Joseph Woll.

This is the second of two games between these teams this season. The Leafs beat the Flames in a shootout back in November