Flames look to shake up lineup

Coming off of giving up at least four goals in two straight games – the first one a loss, the second one a win – the Flames, before heading out on the road, appear to be experimenting with both their forward and defensive groups.

At forward, via Pat Steinberg, it looks like Mark Jankowski will be coming out for Garnet Hathaway, and Dillon Dube is going to get a turn at centre:

Considering the newfound depth at forward the Flames have, it’s been a legitimate question to wonder who they could possibly sit in order to get Hathaway or even Anthony Peluso into the lineup. Apparently, the answer is Jankowski; averaging 7:59 a game, he’s getting the second least amount of ice time, ahead of just Sam Bennett (7:54).

Jankowski may be the one out because the Flames want to give Dube a chance to play centre at the big league level, and as the centre with the least amount of ice time, it makes the most sense to scratch him. To my knowledge, Jankowski hasn’t been tested on the wing, which could explain the preference to keep Bennett in – and Bennett can, theoretically, play centre. (As in, we’ve seen him do it in the NHL, even if it hasn’t gone particularly well.)

This move also sees Derek Ryan move down to the fourth line, as Frolik gets all new linemates. The top six has been kept intact because they’re doing pretty awesome, while Dube and James Neal are staying together.

On defence, also via Steinberg, it looks like Rasmus Andersson will be making his season debut:

Dalton Prout comes out of the lineup, and with Travis Hamonic injured, the Flames appear ready to test out an all-rookie pairing – for however long that may last in-game.

(For what it’s worth, Peters mentioned in his post-practice media availability that they might swap right side defenders to avoid an all-rookie pairing on the road, so Andersson might be with Noah Hanifin and Juuso Valimaki with Michael Stone.)

With Hathaway in the game, the Flames probably don’t feel the need to dress Prout.

The top unit powerplay also looks to be staying together – it did just score three goals, finally – while Hanifin gets a chance on the second man advantage:

Last point of order (seriously, thanks for all the information Pat) – with the Flames going on a three-game road trip and probably hyper aware of the fact they can’t run Mike Smith into the ground, David Rittich will probably be getting one of the next two starts. The Flames are in Nashville on Tuesday and St. Louis on Thursday. Nashville has won both its games to date, while St. Louis has lost one in regulation and one in overtime.

The Flames close out with a night game in Colorado on Saturday before returning to the Saddledome for a two-game homestand.