FGD 6: Back(-to-back) in the Shark Tank (8pm MT, SN1)
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoJust 24 hours after going bust in Sin City, the Calgary Flames (2-2-1, 5 points) are back in action as they polish off their quick three games in four nights road trip. But they’re headed to another tough building for them as they visit the San Jose Sharks (1-4-0, 2 points) at the SAP Center, better known as the Shark Tank.
The puck drops at 8 p.m. MT on Sportsnet One and Sportsnet 960 The Fan (with Derek Wills and Peter Loubardias).
The Flames
Yesterday’s lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Tkachuk – Backlund – Mangiapane
Lucic – Ryan – Bennett
Rieder – Jankowski – Frolik
Tkachuk – Backlund – Mangiapane
Lucic – Ryan – Bennett
Rieder – Jankowski – Frolik
Giordano – Andersson
Hanifin – Hamonic
Brodie – Stone
Hanifin – Hamonic
Brodie – Stone
Cam Talbot starts for the first time as a Flame, backed up by David Rittich. Last night’s scratches were Oliver Kylington and Austin Czarnik. Potentially one (or both) will slide in to give the Flames a bit of a boost tonight. The Flames don’t skate today before the game, so we’ll probably get some intel on the lineup in the afternoon.
Update: Kylington and Czarnik are confirmed to be in tonight, but no word on who they’re replacing.
The Flames weren’t good last night. They out-played the Golden Knights for about two minutes in the second period, but otherwise were chasing. They’ll need to be mentally and emotionally engaged from the get-go if they want to bounce back from last night’s debacle and stay above .500.
The Sharks
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Meier – Couture – Marleau
Kane – Hertl – LaBanc
Yurtaikin – Thornton – Goodrow
Bergmann – Gambrell – M.Karlsson
Kane – Hertl – LaBanc
Yurtaikin – Thornton – Goodrow
Bergmann – Gambrell – M.Karlsson
Vlasic – Burns
Dillon – E.Karlsson
Ferraro – Carrick
Dillon – E.Karlsson
Ferraro – Carrick
Martin Jones starts for the Sharks, backed up by Aaron Dell. Lukas Radil and Tim Heed are the projected extras.
There are two ways to look at the Sharks’ season. They finally won a game on Thursday, beating Chicago by a 5-4 score. On one hand, they eked out a win against an iffy Blackhawks team. On the other hand, they’re undefeated in the second Patrick Marleau era.
The Sharks have several key injuries and their depth is being tested a bit, but they’re well-matched against the Flames and will be a tough out given how the Flames are playing.
The Numbers
| Flames | Sharks | |
| Wins | 2 | 1 |
| Points | 5 | 2 |
| Adjusted Corsi | 48.4% | 51.1% |
| Power Play | 18.8% | 15.0% |
| Penalty Kill | 81.0% | 87.5% |
Injury Report
The Flames are without D Juuso Valimaki (ACL surgery).
The Sharks are missing D Dalton Prout (upper body), D Jacob Middleton (undisclosed), D Radim Simek (knee) and F Marcus Sorensen (undisclosed). Sorensen is reportedly closest to a return.
When Last We Met
These teams split their four meetings last season, alternating wins and losses all year. Their last meeting was a 5-3 victory for the Flames on Mar. 31 that clinched the Pacific Division pennant for Calgary.
Know Thy Enemy
Here are some key Twitter peeps to follow for tonight’s opener:
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