FGD 56: Clash of the titans (5:30pm MT, SN West)

Back in December, two of the National Hockey League’s best teams met at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Tonight at Amalie Arena, they’ll meet again. The Calgary Flames (34-15-6, 74 points) one of the top clubs in the Western Conference. The Tampa Bay Lightning (41-11-4, 86 points) are the top club in the Eastern Conference (and the best overall). The Lightning are in cruise control, while the Flames are trying to scrounge points and punch their ticket to the post-season.

The game starts at 5:30 pm. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

David Rittich starts for the Flames, backed up by Mike Smith. Dalton Prout and Austin Czarnik are the projected healthy scratches.

This morning, the Flames woke up in an unfamiliar place: second in the Pacific Division. The Sharks leap-frogged them last night with a pummeling of Michael Dipietro and the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames are a point behind the Sharks but have two games in hand.

The Flames are 1-2-1 since the All-Star Break and the only game that wasn’t close was their 5-2 loss to the Sharks. If the Flames can find their swagger again, they could be a dangerous team. But to do that, they really need to play better in their own end. Making life easier on their goaltenders will make life easier on everybody going forward.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Andrei Vasilevskiy starts for the Lightning, backed up by Louis Domingue. Their projected scratches are Ondrej Palat, Jan Rutta and Erik Cernak.

The Lightning keep rolling along. They have points in every game since the All-Star Break (4-0-1). They’ve played four one-goal games, and the only game that wasn’t as close was Sunday’s 5-2 win over Florida. They’re a deep, talented team, and they’re doing enough to win consistently every night.

They’re a tough out on every single night.

The Flames are without Michael Stone.

The Lightning are healthy.

This is the second and final game of their season series. The Lightning beat the Flames 5-4 in a shootout back in December.

Your Lightning 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.