Just 24 hours after a dramatic win in Orange County, the Calgary Flames (19-14-7, 45 points) head up Interstate 5 to play the Los Angeles Kings (23-10-5, 51 points) in a big Pacific Division clash! The Flames are tied for the final wildcard spot, while the Kings are a bit more comfy in a divisional slot. Can the Flames win both games on their California trip?

Tonight’s broadcast begins at 8:30 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Guesswork lines based on Tuesday’s game:

Jonathan Huberdeau – Nazem Kadri – Martin Pospisil
Jakob Pelletier – Yegor Sharangovich – Andrei Kuzmenko
Blake Coleman – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Rooney – Walker Duehr

Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – MacKenzie Weegar
Jake Bean – Brayden Pachal

We’re expecting Dan Vladar to start in net, backed up by Dustin Wolf. With Connor Zary’s injury, we’ll likely see Walker Duehr rotate back in as he’s their only extra forward. Blueliners Daniil Miromanov and Tyson Barrie were extras against Anaheim, and we’ll see if either rotate in given the back-to-back situation.

The Flames never trailed on Tuesday against Anaheim and while they surrendered the lead twice, they managed to get timely goals and win in overtime. Unfortunately, they lost arguably their most dynamic young player in Connor Zary to an apparent knee injury – we likely won’t know the extent of it until the Flames return home on Thursday. It’s a back-to-back situation against a tough opponent in a tough building, and the Flames will be shorthanded. It’ll be interesting to see how the Flames handle this situation.

Tuesday night was the seventh game in a row where the Flames allowed a power play goal against. They need to be better – much better – on that side of special teams.

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Alex Turcotte – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore – Quinton Byfield – Warren Foegele
Kevin Fiala – Phillip Danault – Alex Laferriere
Tanner Jeannot – Trevor Lewis – Andreas Englund

Mikey Anderson – Vladislav Gavrikov
Kyle Burroughs – Brandt Clarke
Jacob Moverare – Jordan Spence

We’re projecting Darcy Kuemper to start in net, backed up by David Rittich. The projected extras are Akil Thomas and Samuel Helenius. Joel Edmundson was hurt against Tampa Bay and isn’t expected to play, so Kyle Burroughs likely rotates back in.

What can we say about the Kings? They’re a remarkably consistent team. When we talk about a team’s identity, we often refer back to the Kings because for the past decade or so, they’ve been a remarkably consistent team in terms of playing style and they’re really good at forcing opponents to play their type of game – especially at home. There’s a reason why they’re such a perpetual playoff club.

As always, a trip to the Crypt will be a tall order for the Flames on Wednesday evening.

The Flames are without Anthony Mantha, Justin Kirkland and Connor Zary.

The Kings are without Drew Doughty and Joel Edmundson.

This is the second of three meetings between these clubs this season. The Flames beat the Kings 3-1 in Calgary back on Nov. 11. They’ll close out their season series on Saturday night in Calgary.