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FGD 36: The Crosby-less Penguins visit (7pm MT, SN West)
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Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Pike
Dec 17, 2019, 14:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 17, 2019, 13:14 EST
With their seven game winning streak finally snapped on Saturday by the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, the Calgary Flames (18-13-4, 40 points) look to start a new streak when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins (19-10-4, 42 points) tonight at the Saddledome. The Penguins are missing Sidney Crosby from their lineup, but remain a talented and formidable hockey club. Can the Flames bounce back from their first loss in weeks?
The puck drops just after 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

The Flames

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Tkachuk – Lindholm – Mangiapane
Monahan – Backlund – Dube
Lucic – Ryan – Gaudreau
Bennett – Rieder – Frolik
Giordano – Brodie
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Andersson
Cam Talbot starts, backed up by David Rittich. The expected scratches are Michael Stone, Mark Jankowski and Zac Rinaldo. Sam Bennett makes his return after being sidelined for 13 games with an injury, bumping Jankowski to the press box and Tobias Rieder to center.
The Flames are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. Despite dropping a 4-0 decision on Saturday afternoon to Carolina, they’re an energized, upbeat group these days – a far departure from the doom and gloom that began the 2019-20 campaign. Getting Bennett back potentially gives them four lines that can play with pace, so it’ll be interesting to see how Geoff Ward deploys his units this evening. If Bennett is even a fraction of what he was before he was hurt, the Flames just got a lot more dangerous.

The Penguins

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Guentzel – Malkin – Rust
Aston-Reese – McCann – Kahun
Galchenyuk – Blueger – Tanev
Simon – Lafferty – Noesen
Marino – Letang
Johnson – Schultz
Pettersson – Ruhwedel

Expect Tristan Jarry to start for the Penguins, backed up by Matt Murray. Their projected extras are Juuso Riikola and Joseph Blandisi. Bryan Rust was sick on Monday and stayed at the team hotel. If he doesn’t go, Blandisi will play on the fourth line and Dominick Simon jumps up to the right side of the top line.
The Penguins have had injuries all season, yet are chugging along. Case in point: top pairing defender John Marino. You can be forgiven if you know nothing about Marino. He’s a 22-year-old rookie playing 20 minutes a night against some of the NHL’s best players. The Penguins are able to surround the Crosbys and Malkins with guys like Marino who can slot in and contribute.

The Numbers

Flames
Penguins
Wins
18
19
Points
40
42
Adjusted Corsi
50.2%
53.2%
Power Play
17.4%
16.8%
Penalty Kill
83.8%
81.8%

Injury Report

The Flames are without D Juuso Valimaki (ACL surgery) and F Austin Czarnik (lower body).
The Penguins are missing F Nick Bjugstad (mid body), F Sidney Crosby (groin), D Brian Dumoulin (ankle) and F Patric Hornqvist (lower body).

When Last We Met

The Flames lost to Pittsburgh 3-2 in overtime at the end of November. Today’s game closes out their season series.

Know Thy Enemy

Here are some key Twitter follows for today’s game: