FGD 28: Battling the cannon (5pm MT, SN West)

The Calgary Flames (16-9-2, 34 points) aim to cap off their annual Dads Trip with a victory as they trek to Nationwide Arena to visit the Columbus Blue Jackets (15-9-2, 32 points). The Flames got a big win against Chicago and have a three game streak going, but can they withstand Columbus’ potent offense?

The puck drops just after 5 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

After working the bench for a few games, David Rittich is back in net. He’s backed up by Mike Smith. The healthy scratches are Oliver Kylington and Austin Czarnik.

The Flames are an imperfect team, but they’re finding ways to cobble together points. They weren’t very good at home against Dallas but they managed to get hot at the right time and get to overtime. They were uneven against the Kings and Blackhawks but got good goaltending and timely power play goals. Their best players are being difference-makers when they need them to be, and so they’re in first place in the Pacific Division.

The key to the Flames’ long-term success? Structure! Since the 9-1 thrashing from the Penguins the Flames have gone 11-4-2, but they’ve also limited teams to fewer than 10 high-danger scoring chances in all but two of those games. When the other team doesn’t have a ton of gold star chances, it’s usually a recipe for success.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Pending unrestricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky starts for the Jackets, backed up by Joonas Korpisalo. The projected healthy scratches are Dean Kukan and Anthony Duclair.

The Blue Jackets are an interesting team. They feature an interesting roster, frequent bouts of yelling from head coach John Tortorella, and the seemingly inevitable departure of Bobrovsky and top offensive gun Artemi Panarin. In the meantime, the Jackets are trying to survive in a tough division.

Columbus is a talented, physical team, and they’ll be an interesting test for a Flames team that has struggled against heavier teams in recent years.

The Flames are without Juuso Valimaki, Michael Frolik and Michael Stone.

The Blue Jackets are healthy.

This is the first of two meetings between Calgary and Columbus. They’ll close out the season series in mid-March at the Saddledome.

Your Blue Jackets 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.