Flames lineup in flux for Tuesday’s meeting with Columbus

The Calgary Flames took to the practice ice on Monday morning following a day off on Sunday. With a couple key bodies absent, the team has a few things in flux for Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

These lineup tidbits are from our pal Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan (and this very site).

The defensive groups are straightforward:

All indications are they’ll go with “only” six defenders for Tuesday, so Oliver Kylington, Michael Stone and Dalton Prout seem like the logical scratches here. Nothing terribly controversial. It’s unclear who will start in net, though based on Mike Smith playing on Saturday and losing it seems probable that David Rittich would start against Columbus. It’s nowhere near confirmed, but it’s a reasonable assumption to make based on how Bill Peters has managed his goaltenders over the last while.

The forward group is a bit more complex:

James Neal skated with the main group, but not on a line, while Sam Bennett and Sean Monahan are both day-to-day and skated on their own prior to main practice.

It’s worth noting that Curtis Lazar is with the Flames on an emergency recall. If either of Monahan or Bennett can play on Tuesday, then Lazar would be returned to the AHL immediately (as his presence on the NHL roster is contingent on them needing him to meet roster requirements). If Monahan or Bennett play on Tuesday, obviously these lines would change. Either way, it sounds likely that (1) Lazar will be back in the minors by Thursday, if not earlier and (2) lines will be changed for Thursday when the Flames play the Ottawa Senators.