Flames Game Day 55: The 255th Battle of Alberta (7:30pm MT, SN One/West)

After a big-time game on Saturday night, the local sports team has another big one of the docket on Monday night at the Saddledome! The Calgary Flames (33-14-7, 73 points) currently lead the Pacific Division and are coming off a big overtime win over Colorado. They’re welcoming their rivals, the Edmonton Oilers (30-22-4, 64 points), to town, with the chance to put the Oil firmly in their rear-view mirror with a victory. The Oilers? On the playoff bubble, they need all the points they can get.

The puck drops just after 7:30 p.m. MT. Catch all the action on Sportsnet One and West or Sportsnet 960 The Fan!

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

@Johnny Gaudreau – @Elias Lindholm – @Matthew Tkachuk
@Blake Coleman – @Mikael Backlund – @Trevor Lewis
@Andrew Mangiapane – @Adam Ruzicka – @Tyler Toffoli
@Milan Lucic – @Sean Monahan – @Dillon Dube

@Noah Hanifin – @Rasmus Andersson
@Oliver Kylington – @Chris Tanev
@Nikita Zadorov – @Erik Gudbranson

The expectation is @Jacob Markstrom will return to the net after @Daniel Vladar started (and won) in Denver. And the Flames have shuffled up the second through fourth lines a bit: Coleman/Backlund are now with Lewis, Lucic/Monahan are now with Dube, and we get an all-new combo on the third line with Mangiapane, Ruzicka and Toffoli. The extras for tonight appear to be @Brad Richardson, @Brett Ritchie and @Michael Stone.

Since the Flames returned from their COVID pause on Dec. 30, they’ve played 26 games. They’ve gone 18-7-1, posting a .712 points percentage: only Colorado (.845), Carolina (.741) and Florida (.740) have better records in that span. This may just be what the Flames are now: a good team that has sustained a really high level of play (and a high points percentage) for a big, big chunk of this season.

The top line of @Johnny Gaudreau (71 points), @Matthew Tkachuk (64 points) and @Elias Lindholm (57 points) are all among the top 25 in points in the NHL. When the least productive guy on the line is over a point-per-game, you know they’re good. They combined for nine points against Colorado, so keep your eyes on them against Edmonton.

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

@Warren Foegele – @Connor McDavid – @Zach Hyman
@Evander Kane – @Leon Draisaitl – @Kailer Yamamoto
@Brad Malone – @Ryan McLeod – @Derek Ryan
@Tyler Benson – @Devin Shore – @Philip Broberg

@Darnell Nurse – @Cody Ceci
@Duncan Keith – @Evan Bouchard
@Markus Niemelainen – @William Lagesson

@Mikko Koskinen starts for Edmonton, backed up by @Stuart Skinner. The Oilers have no extra healthy bodies at the moment, but they may make a short-term recall using their current LTIR space.

In the same timespan as Calgary’s surge up the standings, Edmonton’s gone in the opposite direction. They have not been bad, mind you, just kinda mediocre, with a 12-10-4 record since Dec. 30. They’ve had troubles with consistency, with goaltending, with injuries, and with sustaining whatever momentum they do generate from game to game.

This is a big game for an Oilers team that was expected to potentially battle Vegas for the division crown, but are currently fighting for their playoff lives.

The Flames are healthy.

The Oilers are without Oscar Klefbom, Josh Archibald, Kyle Turris, Zack Kassian, Jesse Puljujarvi, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Tyson Barrie and Mike Smith.

These teams have played twice: Edmonton won both games (5-2 and 5-3).

Your recommended Twitter follows for tonight’s contest:

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