FGD 19: The Habs come to Calgary (7pm MT, SN West)

After an uneven three game road trip, the Calgary Flames (10-7-1, 21 points) return home to tangle with an old foe in the form of the Montreal Canadiens (9-6-3, 21 points). After a strong stretch of play was derailed somewhat in California, can the Flames get back into form?

The puck drops at 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Mike Smith makes the start, backed up by David Rittich. The healthy scratches look to be Dillon Dube, Michael Stone and Dalton Prout. As noted yesterday, Dube’s back at 100% but is being given some additional time to get his legs back before he’s put back into game action. In better news, the Flames are wearing their third jerseys tonight.

The key to victory for the Flames tonight? Getting back to basics. They were very effective for a lengthy stretch by playing structured defensive hockey and waiting for their opponents to make a mistake. They got away from that a bit against Anaheim and San Jose. They need to avoid running around against the Habs, as they showed in their earlier meeting that they’re fast and pretty skilled.

Some power play goals from the second unit would also be nice; the first unit has scored every single PP goal so far this season.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Carey Price starts for Montreal, backed up by Antti Niemi. Their healthy extras are Karl Alzner, Nikita Scherbak and Xavier Ouellet. Keep an eye on former Flames players David Schlemko and Kenny Agostino, the only player from the 2013 Jarome Iginla trade currently active in the NHL.

Montreal got thumped by the Oilers on Tuesday night. They haven’t been great defensively, as they’ve allowed four (or more) goals in four straight and three (or more) goals against in every single game they’ve played in November. That said, they’re fast and skilled so they’ll be a tough out this evening for the locals.

The Flames are healthy.

The Canadiens are without Shea Weber, Paul Byron and Joel Armia.

This is the final game of the season series. Montreal beat the Flames 3-2 back on Oct. 23. Rittich was superb for the Flames, but the rest of the team was a bit all over the place.

Your Canadiens Twitter follows for tonight:

From peewee to the pros, Albertans love the atmosphere, energy, and life lessons that take place at rinks across the province. And where there’s an arena, you’ll find an ATB branch nearby—with our team members cheering and fundraising along with you. See more information at ATB.com.