FGD 37: Back to the Shark Tank (8:30pm MT, SN West)

The Calgary Flames (18-15-3) are back from their holiday break. Lucky bunch of guys they are, not only did they get the longest break in the NHL but they get to leave the minus-20 climes of scenic Calgary for sunny Northern California! They kick off the middle portion of their schedule against the San Jose Sharks (19-11-4). They’re likely still holding a grudge over their loss to the Sharks earlier this month and undoubtedly are hoping to return them the favour of a home ice loss.

It’s the latest start time of the season tonight! The puck drops at 8:30 p.m. MT on Sportsnet 960 The Fan and Sportsnet West.

Last night’s lines, courtesy of Daily Faceoff:

David Rittich gets the start, the third of his career. He’s 3-1-0 (the loss coming in relief) with a 2.10 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. He’s backed up by Mike Smith, who’ll likely start tomorrow in Anaheim. Matt Bartkowski and Curtis Lazar are tonight’s healthy scratches, while Jaromir Jagr draws back into the lineup after being day-to-day with a persisting lower-body injury. Travis Hamonic is also back after missing a game with a lower-body injury.

The Flames are coming off arguably their first out-and-out bad game in several weeks. They were out-worked and out-hustled by the Canadiens and it showed on the scoreboard. They didn’t give up any points to a conference or divisional rival, but they also didn’t get any “bonus points” that teams get from beating teams in the other conference. If the Flames are gonna fall flat, at least it was against an Eastern Conference team.

But that’s their mulligan. The team has established themselves as a hard-working group that plays a specific type of game over the past 20-ish games. They have to be better against San Jose because one bad game is a lapse, but a couple may become a habit.

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Martin Jones starts for the Sharks. He’s 12-8-3 with a 2.51 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. He’s backed up by Aaron Dell. Tim Heed and Paul Martin are the likely scratches. Martin was recalled before the Christmas break from a conditioning stint and hasn’t played a game since Dec. 7.

The Sharks have the second-best goals against average in the league. They’re a pretty stingy group these days, which has made up for some offense that left town over the summer. Needless to say, they’re a pretty stacked, dangerous team, who the Flames will need to out-battle for (a) a win or (b) a playoff spot.

Flames: Daniel Pribyl (knee) and Kris Versteeg (hip) are on the injured reserve.

San Jose: Barclay Goodrow (lower-body) is on the injured reserve. Logan Couture (concussion) is injured but on the active roster.

This is the second of four meetings between these clubs. The Sharks beat Calgary 3-2 two weeks ago in the Saddledome. You might remember the game: Joonas Donskoi jammed home a loose puck through Mike Smith’s legs after Johnny Gaudreau turned the puck over inside the offensive blueline late in a tied game. Glen Gulutzan repeated the phrase “You can’t turn back” six or seven times in his post-game presser.

Check out these folks for sweet, sweet Sharks tweets:

The Flames return to the ice following their holiday break with a tough opponent in a key divisional match-up.