Playoff FGD: Flames vs. Ducks, Game 4

It’s entirely possible that tonight will the final game of the 2016-17 Calgary Flames season. The Flames enter Game 4 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Anaheim Ducks down three games to none. Through 182 minutes of hockey, the Flames have held a lead for 60 of them. Unfortunately, they haven’t had the lead at the end of any of them, which is why they’re down three to nothing in the series.

Tonight is the Flames’ Waterloo. It’s Custer’s Last Stand. It’s do or die. Throw out any other wacky “win or you’re done” cliches you’d like. We’re going to learn an awful lot about the Flames and who this team is, in their guts, by the end of these three-plus periods of ice hockey at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The puck drops at 8 p.m. MT on CBC (with Rick Ball and John Garrett) and Sportsnet 960 The Fan (with Derek Wills and Peter Loubardias).

Lines via Daily Faceoff:

Despite losing three in a row, and despite giving up a few tough goals in the past two games, Brian Elliott is back between the pipes tonight (with Chad Johnson backing him up). Elliott was shaky throughout the third period of Game 3, and early in Game 2, but I would imagine the logic behind going with him is that he’s gotten the team this far. Why not let him try to keep them alive, right?

Two lineup changes for this evening: Freddie Hamilton and Curtis Lazar are in for Lance Bouma and Matt Stajan, who join Dennis Wideman on the sidelines. That means it looks like the Flames will be storing roughly $10.6 million in regular season cap hits in the press box for the most important game of their season. Presumably Hamilton and Lazar jump into the penalty killing rotation as well, but that’s not a definite.

Why not more significant, seismic changes after losing the first three games? At his morning press conference, head coach Glen Gulutzan was fairly succinct about his thought process:

The Flames have played well in each game played in this series. Heck, you can make a very good argument that they were the better team in Games 2 and 3. But the team just gets in their own way far too much; via penalties, via losing focus, via bad goaltending and via taking their foot off the gas last game. Say what you will about the officiating or goal reviews or whatever other aspects of the series you’ve hated, but teams that go far in the playoffs don’t let those things derail them.

In terms of their metamorphosis into a potential powerhouse, the Flames are not there yet. But they might not be done for the season quite yet.

Lines via Daily Faceoff:

We’re still awaiting confirmation on Anaheim’s starter for this evening. John Gibson was pulled after allowing four goals on 16 shots in Game 3 and Jonathan Bernier was perfect on 16 shots in relief for the win. It’s basically a coin toss in terms of who goes, as both guys are capable of grabbing the Ducks a win. For whatever it’s worth, Gibson was first off the ice at morning skate.

Update: Gibson confirmed as starter.

The Ducks have been pretty hamstrung in terms of having a beaten-up blueline. They’ve been without Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler and Clayton Stoner, and there’s no way Kevin Bieksa is 100% after leaving Game 3 a couple times after big hits. But despite playing a very inexperienced defensive group, they’ve been good enough to win each game so far. The Flames made moves to add some speed to their fourth line, but we’ll see if that’s enough to overcome how solid the Ducks back end has been.

Some Ducks follows for tonight’s contest:

The Flames desperately need a win to stay alive in the postseason. Expect them to lay it all out there for 60 minutes tonight. If they can’t get some bounces, though, it may not be enough.