FGD 51: A trip to Montreal (5:30pm MT, SN West)

Just 24 hours after laying an egg against Toronto, the Calgary Flames are back in action and hoping for a better office when they face the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs are one of the National Hockey League’s top teams and boast one of the league’s best goaltenders in Carey Price. For a team that’s struggled recently to generate offense, tonight has the makings of a big challenge. Are the Flames up to the challenge?

Find out tonight at 5:30 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Yesterday’s lines via Daily Faceoff:

Since Brian Elliott played and lost yesterday in Toronto, Chad Johnson starts tonight in Montreal. He’s 16-11-1 with a 2.41 goals against average and .917 save percentage. He’s been Calgary’s better goalie this season, but he’s struggled lately. But hey, everybody on the Flames has struggled recently it seems. They’re riding a three game losing skid and have dropped five of their last six.

The expectation that the Flames will tinker with their lineup tonight after how flat they were last night. The team has confirmed that Brett Kulak will stay in, so there’s likely no change on the blueline. Micheal Ferland was a healthy scratch last night and it’s unclear if he comes back in or not. Garnet Hathaway is on the injured reserve so, if they wanted to, the Flames could recall somebody from Stockton if they wanted to.

The Flames need to be better. A consistent 60 minutes would be a nice start.

Lines via Daily Faceoff:

Carey Price suits up for Montreal tonight. He’s 21-9-5 with a 2.36 goals against average and .920 save percentage. He plays a lot and he plays really well, and his steadiness has helped solidify a lot for Montreal this season.

The Habs are without Charles Hudon, David Desharnais, Brendan Gallagher, Andrei Markov and Alex Galchenyuk tonight. But they do have quite a bit of depth, including former Flames breakaway champion Paul Byron (who’s been a boon for their middle six). Beyond their speedy and skilled forwards, they have a good mix of big physical defenders and mobile puck-movers.

It could be another long night for the Flames.

This is the 112th regular season game between the Flames and Montreal. The Flames are 38-56-17 all-time against the Habs. This is the first of two contests between these teams this year. They meet again in Calgary in early March.

Remember that time the Flames beat Montreal for the Stanley Cup? That was fun.

Some Canadiens follows for y’all tonight:

If the Flames lose this game in regulation, they’re back at the .500 mark points-wise. They need to find a way back to consistent hockey and find a way to grind out some points by hook or by crook.