Calgary Flames Game Day 64: Closing out the road trip in Carolina (3pm MT)

A day removed from a loss in Florida, the Calgary Flames (31-27-5, 67 points) close out a three game eastern road swing with another big test when they head to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes (38-19-6, 82 points). Both teams played matinees on Saturday and then travelled. Can the Flames bounce back from a sub-par outing against the Panthers and end their road trip on a winning note?

The broadcast begins at 3 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West, Sportsnet One and Sportsnet 960 The Fan. The Flames opened as +170 underdogs against the Hurricanes on Betway.

Projected lines courtesy Daily Faceoff:

Mangiapane – Backlund – Coleman
Pelletier – Kadri – Kuzmenko
Huberdeau – Sharangovich – Coronato
Hunt – Rooney – Duehr

Andersson – Weegar
Kylington – Miromanov
Hanley – Pachal

We’re projecting Dan Vladar to start in net, backed up by Jacob Markstrom. Martin Pospisil serves the third and final game of his three game suspension. The expected healthy scratches are Nikita Okhotiuk and Dennis Gilbert.

The Flames lost 5-1 to Florida on Saturday and then flew to Raleigh. They’ve been playing pretty good hockey overall, but they were just a bit out-matched and sloppy against the Panthers and it cost them. But in a back-to-back situation, the Flames can hopefully burn the tape and get back to playing how they looked against Tampa Bay.

Keep an eye on MacKenzie Weegar against the ‘Canes. He was not particularly great against Florida, making a few key miscues at key times and wearing a minus-4 rating. But Weegar’s been really good and really consistent over the past 13 months, so he seems like the type to shake off a bad outing and bounce back with a strong effort.

Projected lines courtesy Daily Faceoff:

We’re thinking Spencer Martin or Frederik Andersen starts against the Flames after Pyotr Kochetkov played on Saturday. Martin backed up on Saturday, but Andersen played on Thursday (for the first time since November). The extra skaters on Saturday were Anthony DeAngelo and Brendan Lemieux. Update: Frederik Andersen starts; Brendan Lemieux comes in for Jack Drury.

The Hurricanes beat New Jersey on Saturday and then flew home. They’re among the top teams in the league, and that was before they added Jake Guentzel (who’s working his way back from injury) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (who debuted on Saturday). The ‘Canes are deep and full of talented players. They’re a tough out on any occasion.

The Flames will need to be at their best to get points out of their trip to Raleigh.

The Flames are without Dillon Dube, A.J. Greer and Connor Zary.

The Hurricanes are without Jake Guentzel.

This is the second and final game between these two clubs. The Flames beat the Hurricanes in Calgary back in December.