FGD 58: A trip to La La Land (8pm MT, SN West)

Photo credit:Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

4 years ago

Two games into their four game western swing, the Calgary Flames (29-22-6, 64 points) have two wins. They’ll try to keep the good times rolling along tonight when they head to Hollywood to face the Los Angeles Kings (19-33-5, 43 points), a team in the midst of a lengthy losing skid.

The puck drops just after 8 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

The Flames

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Mangiapane – Backlund – Tkachuk
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Lucic – Ryan – Dube
Rieder – Jankowski – Rinaldo

Hanifin – Andersson
Brodie – Stone
Kylington – Yelesin

David Rittich starts for the Flames, backed up by Cam Talbot (who presumably starts against Anaheim tomorrow). The projected extras are Brandon Davidson, Buddy Robinson and Sam Bennett. Alexander Yelesin makes his NHL debut tonight.

The Flames have followed some of the worst hockey they’ve played all season with two of their best efforts. Now, the question is whether they can keep it going. The schedule’s on their side – after Los Angeles and Anaheim back-to-back, they go home to face Chicago and Anaheim again. They just need to keep doing what they’ve been doing.

The Kings

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Iafallo – Kopitar – Toffoli
Kempe – Carter – Brown
Moore – Lizotte – Wagner
Frk – Amadio – Lewis

Ryan – Doughty
Martinez – Walker
MacDermid – Roy

Cal Petersen starts for the Kings, backed up by Jonathan Quick. The projected extras are Ben Hutton, Derek Forbort and Trevor Lewis.

The Kings are back from their eastern road trip. They lost all four games, and only managed to score four goals during their three games in the New York area. Their last win was Jan. 30. They’re selling off their team for parts. They’re second-last in the NHL in points.

This is a game the Flames need to have.