Calgary Flames Game Day 74: Hunting the Ducks (7pm MT)

After an impressive victory over a tough divisional foe on Saturday, the Calgary Flames (34-34-5, 73 points) will try to close out their current homestand on a positive note when they host the Anaheim Ducks (24-47-4, 52 points). Can the Flames inch above the .500 mark before they head back on the road?

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

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Huberdeau – Backlund – Coleman
Kuzmenko – Kadri – Pospisil
Zary – Sharangovich – Coronato
Greer – Rooney – Hunt

Hanley – Andersson
Weegar – Miromanov
Kylington – Pachal

We’re projecting Jacob Markstrom to start in net, backed up by Dustin Wolf. The extras project to be Nikita Okhotiuk, Dennis Gilbert and Walker Duehr. Andrew Mangiapane remains out day-to-day, but the expectation is he could potentially be available against Winnipeg on Thursday.

The Flames are well outside of the playoffs, but they’re playing pretty decent hockey despite having lost a ton of regulars this season via trades and more recently via some minor injuries. They’ve managed to find a style of game and overall structure that works well for them, but it’s just a matter of maintaining their form and pace – which is easier said than done over a long season.

The schedule’s on the Flames’ side right now, in terms of giving them the opportunity to try out players in different situations – particularly their young players. Keep an eye on the likes of Connor Zary and Matt Coronato against the Ducks.

Projected lines courtesy Daily Faceoff:

Fowler – Zellweger
LaCombe – Lindstrom
Vaakanainen – Lagesson

We’re projecting Lukas Dostal to start in net, backed up by John Gibson. The projected extra skaters are Max Jones and Ross Johnston.

The Ducks have lost five in a row (0-4-1). They’ve won once in their last 13 games. They won three games in March. They had a minus-36 goal differential in March and averaged 1.56 goals for per game. They’re a team playing out the string, and they arguably have been since mid-season.

The Flames have had a tough time with “bad” teams this season, but they’ve performed well against the Ducks over the past few years. We’ll see if that continues.

The Flames are without Dillon Dube, Dan Vladar and Andrew Mangiapane.

The Ducks are without Brock McGinn, Radko Gudas and Pavel Mityukov.

This is the second of three meetings between these two clubs this season. The Flames shut out the Ducks in Anaheim back in December. They’ll close out their season series next week in Orange County.