FGD 22: A trip to the desert (2pm MT, SN Flames)
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoAfter a tumultuous couple of games, the Calgary Flames (10-8-3, 23 points) get back into game action and hit the road in the first half of a weekend-long back to back stretch. First up? The Arizona Coyotes (11-7-2, 24 points), who the Flames narrowly beat a few games ago.
The puck drops at 2 p.m. MT on Sportsnet Flames and Sportsnet 960 The Fan!
The Flames
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Tkachuk- Backlund – Frolik
Mangiapane – Ryan – Bennett
Lucic – Jankowski – Rieder
Tkachuk- Backlund – Frolik
Mangiapane – Ryan – Bennett
Lucic – Jankowski – Rieder
Giordano – Andersson
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Stone
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Stone
David Rittich starts for the Flames, backed up by Cam Talbot (who’ll start tomorrow in Vegas most likely). The projected scratches are Alan Quine and Brandon Davidson.
The big story is that the Flames will be without TJ Brodie, at least for a little bit. But the Flames are getting Oliver Kylington into the lineup and he’s arguably the next-best pure skater in the organization. With a pair of road games against divisional opponents in tough buildings over 48 hours, adding some mobility to the lineup is a good thing.
With the Flames down a bit piece of their lineup, expect them to roll their lines and try to keep things simple. Some of the best hockey they’ve played all season are their simple road games, so perhaps they can rekindle that magic.
The Coyotes
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Dvorak – Schmaltz – Garland
Keller – Stepan – Hinostroza
Crouse – Soderberg – Kessel
Grabner – Richardson – Fischer
Keller – Stepan – Hinostroza
Crouse – Soderberg – Kessel
Grabner – Richardson – Fischer
Ekman-Larsson – Demers
Chychrun – Goligoski
Ness – Oesterle
Chychrun – Goligoski
Ness – Oesterle
Darcy Kuemper starts for the Coyotes, backed up by Antti Raanta. The projected extras are Eric Comrie (in the AHL on a conditioning stint), Ilya Lyubushkin and Barrett Hayton.
As the Flames learned a little while back, the Coyotes remain one of the most difficult outs in the NHL – some in hockey circles have compared them to the New York Islanders in terms of their commitment to a system that utterly frustrates the opposition. They have talent, youth and good goaltending. The Flames will need to out-work them to get two points.
The Numbers
| Flames | Coyotes | |
| Wins | 10 | 11 |
| Points | 23 | 24 |
| Adjusted Corsi | 51.1% | 50.5% |
| Power Play | 18.6% | 16.1% |
| Penalty Kill | 85.5% | 80.0% |
Injury Report
The Flames are without D TJ Brodie (fainting episode), D Juuso Valimaki (ACL surgery) and F Austin Czarnik (lower body).
The Coyotes are missing D Niklas Hjalmarsson (fibula) and F Marian Hossa (allergic to equipment).
When Last We Met
The Flames beat Arizona by a 4-3 score in a dramatic overtime comeback victory last month in Calgary.
Know Thy Enemy
Here are some key Twitter peeps to follow for tonight:
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