Flames Game Day 34: Here come the Senators (7pm MT, SN West)
By Ryan Pike
2 years agoA month after their last home game, the Calgary Flames (17-10-6, 40 points) are back in action at the palatial Scotiabank Saddledome! Their opponents are the Ottawa Senators (9-18-2, 20 points), another group who haven’t played a heck of a lot lately and are hoping to generate some standings momentum. It’s a game the Flames desperately want to win given they’ve won twice in their last 10 games.
This game gets going at 7 p.m. MT. You can catch the action on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan. It’s also the first game for Calgary at home during the new attendance and food/beverage restrictions so don’t be too shocked if you see a lot of fans dressed up like empty seats.
The Flames
Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk
Coleman – Backlund – Pitlick
Mangiapane – Dube – Ritchie
Lucic – Monahan – Lewis
Coleman – Backlund – Pitlick
Mangiapane – Dube – Ritchie
Lucic – Monahan – Lewis
Hanifin – Andersson
Kylington – Tanev
Zadorov – Gudbranson
Kylington – Tanev
Zadorov – Gudbranson
Jacob Markstrom starts, backed up by Dan Vladar. Michael Stone and Brad Richardson are the active extras, while Adam Ruzicka is on the taxi squad.
The Flames have lost three in a row. And won just twice in their last 10 games. They’re fairly comfortably in a playoff spot right now because, well, they were really, really good prior to this iffy 10 games. With some extra rest and practice time – and distance from their COVID outbreak – can the Flames get back to their old excellence and swagger?
Tonight’s the time to find out, as it’s a “should-win” game against a non-conference foe who’s way, way down in the standings. This is the type of game that good teams, playoff teams, tend to win.
The Senators
Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:
Tkachuk – Norris – Batherson
Formenton – Paul – C.Brown
Sanford – Gambrell – Watson
Ennis – Tierney – Sabourin
Formenton – Paul – C.Brown
Sanford – Gambrell – Watson
Ennis – Tierney – Sabourin
Chabot – Bernard-Docker
Holden – Zub
Brannstrom – J.Brown
Holden – Zub
Brannstrom – J.Brown
Matt Murray starts, backed up by Anton Forsberg. The projected active extras are Victor Mete and Dillon Heatherington, while Clark Bishop is on the taxi squad.
The Senators are missing a few key players. And they haven’t played in awhile. And they’re the Senators, a team that’s high on pep and hard work but low on what folks would define as “high end NHL talent.” They’re a team you need to outwork in order to beat, but they’ve lost a lot this season already.
The numbers
| Calgary | Ottawa | |
| Wins | 17 | 9 |
| Points (%) | 40 (.606) | 20 (.345) |
| Adjusted Corsi For | 55.5% | 44.2% |
| Expected Goals For | 53.1% | 45.8% |
| Power Play | 21.4% | 19.2% |
| Penalty Kill | 83.7% | 78.1% |
Unfit to play
The Flames are healthy.
The Senators are without Tim Stuetzle, Adam Gaudette, Shane Pinto, Colin White and Nikita Zaitsev.
When last we met
The Flames beat Ottawa in Ottawa (okay, suburban Ottawa) back in November.
Know thy enemy
Your recommended Twitter follows for today’s contest:
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