FGD: Going to Winnipeg (6pm MT, TSN3)

After taking the weekend off from preseason game action, the Calgary Flames are back at it as they try to trim their roster down to the regulation 23-man roster in time for the regular season to kick off in 10 short days. In the interim? They’re going to Winnipeg, for an exhibition game with the Jets.

The puck drops at 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet 960 The Fan. TSN3 is carrying the game, as they usually do for Jets games, but I’m reasonably sure it’ll be blacked out. (Your mileage may vary.)

The Flames have just 40 players in camp and Glen Gulutzan indicated on Sunday that a few players will get another chance to prove themselves tonight. Given the fact that there’s just 10 days to lock down the roster, it might be the last chance for a lot of players.

Via our pal Pat Steinberg (Hi, Pat!), the roster that’s headed to Winnipeg.

And lines (also via Pat):

Tkachuk – Monahan – Foo
Poirier – Jankowski – Hathaway
Cramarossa – Hrivik – Lazar
Gazdic – Dube – Lomberg

Wotherspoon – Kulak
Valimaki – Andersson
Bartkowski – Stone

Eddie Lack is starting tonight and is expected to go the full 60 minutes.

Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk are back after being put on the back-burner a bit due to some minor bumps and bruises. Also slotting back in is 19-year-old Dillon Dube, who will probably end up going back to the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets before too long, but also has been arguably the most consistently noticeable player in the two games he’s played in.

Winnipeg went through some cuts following their 6-2 loss to Edmonton on Saturday night, bringing their roster down to a fairly manageable 19 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders. Michael Spacek and JC Lipon scored in the loss.

Projected lines for this evening (via Pat):

Connor – Scheifele – Wheeler
Ehlers – Petan – Laine
Perreault – Lowry – Dano
Matthias – Copp – Tanev

Enstrom – Byfuglien
Kulikov – Trouba
Chiarot – Poolman

Steve Mason starts.

Calgary and Winnipeg exchanged shutouts last preseason; the Flames won 3-0 and the Jets won 4-0, with the road team getting the victory each time. The Jets beat Calgary twice in the 2015 preseason.

The Flames are coming off a win against Arizona on Friday and probably their best performance team-wise of the exhibition calendar. Another strong game from the gentlemen wearing the Flaming C might make a few decisions very tough for general manager Brad Treliving over the next week.