Flames Game Day 82: A dress rehearsal in Winnipeg (6pm MT, SN West)

On Tuesday, the Calgary Flames (50-20-11, 111 points) likely begin the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs with a home game. Before that, they have one last piece of outstanding business, the 82nd game of the regular season against the Winnipeg Jets (37-32-11, 85 points). The Jets are not heading to the playoffs, but they’ll be a motivated bunch as they wind down a disappointing season. Can the Flames close things out with a win? Can the Jets push the Flames as they head towards their off-season?

The game is set for 6 p.m. MT and you can catch it on Sportsnet West, and on Sportsnet 960 The Fan!

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

@Johnny Gaudreau – @Elias Lindholm – @Matthew Tkachuk
@Andrew Mangiapane – @Mikael Backlund – @Tyler Toffoli
@Dillon Dube – @Calle Jarnkrok – @Blake Coleman
@Milan Lucic – @Ryan Carpenter – @Brett Ritchie

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

@Daniel Vladar is likelyto start in goal, backed up by @Jacob Markstrom. It’s the second half of a back-to-back, so we’ll see if Darryl Sutter makes any other lineup tweaks. @Trevor Lewis is back in Calgary and the extras on the road trip are @Connor Mackey, @Michael Stone and @Adam Ruzicka.

The Flames have had a really, really good season. One of the best in franchise history by regular season standards. The big question is if they can translate that into post-season success. The challenge for the Flames tonight: regardless of tonight’s outcome, can they play 60(-plus?) minutes of hockey that prepare them for the challenge that awaits them on Tuesday.

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

@Kyle Connor – @Pierre-Luc Dubois – @Jansen Harkins
@Nikolaj Ehlers – @Paul Stastny – @Blake Wheeler
@Zach Sanford – @Adam Lowry – @Mason Appleton
@Morgan Barron – @Dominic Toninato – @Evgeny Svechnikov

@Josh Morrissey – @Dylan DeMelo
@Dylan Samberg – @Neal Pionk
@Brenden Dillon – @Nate Schmidt

@Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start in net, backed up by @Eric Comrie. Their projected extras are @Adam Brooks and @Logan Stanley.

The Jets are running out the clock in a season that just hasn’t gone their way. They’ve had injuries, but they’ve also had some disappointing performances and down seasons from a lot of key players. The Jets are hoping to have a solid end to their regular season tonight and Sunday against Seattle, and then have a good reset over the summer so they can set the stage for a stronger 2022-23 campaign.

The Flames are without Sean Monahan.

The Wild are without Mark Scheifele and Cole Perfetti.

The Flames and Jets have split their first two meetings, both in Calgary. This is their final meeting of the season.

Your recommended Twitter follows for tonight’s contest:

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