Calgary Flames Game Day 45: Closing out the road trip in Nashville (6pm MT, SN1/960)
By Ryan Pike
1 year agoBe sure to check out NHL betting site Betway for the latest Flames game day odds!
In four games on the road, the Calgary Flames (21-14-9, 51 points) have points in all four games on their current trip. They look to finish things strong on Monday evening against the Nashville Predators (19-17-6, 44 points), another team mired in the Western Conference playoff clump and desperately looking to go on a run to strengthen their claim to a post-season spot.
The broadcast begins at 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet One and Sportsnet 960 The Fan!
The Flames
Projected lines courtesy Daily Faceoff:
Dube – Lindholm – Toffoli
Huberdeau – Kadri – Lucic
Mangiapane – Backlund – Coleman
Duehr – Ruzicka – Lewis
Huberdeau – Kadri – Lucic
Mangiapane – Backlund – Coleman
Duehr – Ruzicka – Lewis
Hanifin – Andersson
Weegar – Tanev
Zadorov – Stone
Weegar – Tanev
Zadorov – Stone
We’re projecting Jacob Markstrom to start for the Flames, backed up by Dan Vladar. The projected extras are Connor Mackey and Jakob Pelletier.
The Flames begin Monday’s action five points behind Los Angeles for the third and final Pacific Division playoff spot with two games in hand. They’re currently in the first wild-card spot (on tiebreakers over Edmonton, who they’re tied with in points). Two points against Nashville not only gives the Flames eight of a possible 10 points on their trip, but allows them to start potentially reeling in the teams in the divisional spots ahead of them.
What can we say about how the Flames are playing? They’re a strong possession team and have looked really strong at times. But they’re also a team that has played a lot of close games because of defensive miscues, occasionally spotty goaltending, and a team that generates many scoring chances but has trouble burying ’em sometimes. If they can tidy up their details a bit, watch out.
The Predators
Projected lines courtesy Daily Faceoff:
Forsberg – Parssinen – Duchene
Niederreiter – Johansen – Granlund
Trenin – Novak – Jeannot
Smith – Glass – Sissons
Niederreiter – Johansen – Granlund
Trenin – Novak – Jeannot
Smith – Glass – Sissons
McDonagh – Josi
Ekholm – Fabbro
Lauzon – McKeown
Ekholm – Fabbro
Lauzon – McKeown
Juuse Saros is the projected Nashville starter, backed up by Kevin Lankinen. Their projected extra is Mark Jankowski. Alexandre Carrier is said to be a game-time decision.
The Predators lost to Buffalo on Saturday night in Nashville. They’re seven points back of Edmonton for the second wild-card spot, albeit with three games in hand. They’ve been a win-one, lose-one team for much oft he season, seemingly defined by some maddening inconsistency. But they have a talented bunch, especially on the blueline, and they’re a good fortnight away from being definitively in a playoff spot. And they have a group that could just flip that switch and go on a run for a couple weeks.
Unavailable players
The Flames are without Oliver Kylington and Brett Ritchie.
The Predators are without Michael McCarron, Mark Borowiecki and Alexandre Carrier.
The numbers
| Flames | Predators | |
| 21 | Wins | 19 |
| 51 (.580) | Points (%) | 44 (.524) |
| 54.1 | xGF% | 49.3 |
| 20.0 | PP% | 17.0 |
| 82.1 | PK% | 79.1 |
Head to head
This is the second of three games between these teams this season. Nashville beat the Flames in Calgary back in November.
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