After an uneven three game road trip, the Calgary Flames (10-7-1, 21 points) return home to tangle with an old foe in the form of the Montreal Canadiens (9-6-3, 21 points). After a strong stretch of play was derailed somewhat in California, can the Flames get back into form?
The puck drops at 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.
The Flames
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Tkachuk – Backlund – Bennett
Czarnik – Jankowski – Neal
Frolik – Ryan – Hathaway
Tkachuk – Backlund – Bennett
Czarnik – Jankowski – Neal
Frolik – Ryan – Hathaway
Giordano – Brodie
Hanifin – Hamonic
Valimaki – Andersson
Hanifin – Hamonic
Valimaki – Andersson
Mike Smith makes the start, backed up by David Rittich. The healthy scratches look to be Dillon Dube, Michael Stone and Dalton Prout. As noted yesterday, Dube’s back at 100% but is being given some additional time to get his legs back before he’s put back into game action. In better news, the Flames are wearing their third jerseys tonight.
The key to victory for the Flames tonight? Getting back to basics. They were very effective for a lengthy stretch by playing structured defensive hockey and waiting for their opponents to make a mistake. They got away from that a bit against Anaheim and San Jose. They need to avoid running around against the Habs, as they showed in their earlier meeting that they’re fast and pretty skilled.
Some power play goals from the second unit would also be nice; the first unit has scored every single PP goal so far this season.
#Flames are practising their second PP unit before today's morning skate.
Hanifin-Czarnik
Bennett-Backlund-Neal
— Kristen Anderson (@KdotAnderson) November 15, 2018
Les Canadiens
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Tatar – Danault – Gallagher
Drouin – Domi – Shaw
Agostino – Kotkaniemi – Lehkonen
Deslauriers – Peca – Hudon
Drouin – Domi – Shaw
Agostino – Kotkaniemi – Lehkonen
Deslauriers – Peca – Hudon
Benn – Petry
Schlemko – Mete
Juulsen – Reilly
Schlemko – Mete
Juulsen – Reilly
Carey Price starts for Montreal, backed up by Antti Niemi. Their healthy extras are Karl Alzner, Nikita Scherbak and Xavier Ouellet. Keep an eye on former Flames players David Schlemko and Kenny Agostino, the only player from the 2013 Jarome Iginla trade currently active in the NHL.
Montreal got thumped by the Oilers on Tuesday night. They haven’t been great defensively, as they’ve allowed four (or more) goals in four straight and three (or more) goals against in every single game they’ve played in November. That said, they’re fast and skilled so they’ll be a tough out this evening for the locals.
The Numbers
CGY | MTL | |
Wins | 10 | 9 |
Points | 21 | 21 |
Corsi Close | 54.3% | 53.1% |
Power Play | 17.2% | 13.0% |
Penalty Kill | 76.3% | 82.5% |
Injury Report
The Flames are healthy.
The Canadiens are without Shea Weber, Paul Byron and Joel Armia.
Season Series
This is the final game of the season series. Montreal beat the Flames 3-2 back on Oct. 23. Rittich was superb for the Flames, but the rest of the team was a bit all over the place.
Know Thy Enemy
Your Canadiens Twitter follows for tonight:
FGD brought to you by ATB Financial
From peewee to the pros, Albertans love the atmosphere, energy, and life lessons that take place at rinks across the province. And where there’s an arena, you’ll find an ATB branch nearby—with our team members cheering and fundraising along with you. See more information at ATB.com.