If the Stanley Cup playoffs began on Sunday, the Calgary Flames (24-16-7-, 55 points) would be playing the Winnipeg Jets (33-14-3, 69 points) in the first round. Just like everyone predicted. But the playoffs do not begin on Sunday, and this evening’s contest between the Flames and Jets represents an opportunity for both clubs to solidify their playoff positions as they inch towards the 4 Nations Face-Off break in mid-February.

Tonight’s broadcast begins at 4 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Lines from warm-up, courtesy Sportsnet’s Derek Wills:

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

Joel Hanley – Rasmus Andersson
MacKenzie Weegar – Daniil Miromanov
Jake Bean – Brayden Pachal

It’s a back-to-back with travel, so Dan Vladar starts the second half, backed up by Dustin Wolf (who started against Minnesota). We wouldn’t expect to see Kevin Bahl play after he left Saturday’s game early in the second period after going into the boards on a hit from Jakub Lauko. The extras on Saturday were Jake Bean and Rory Kerins, and at the very least we’ll see Bean slot in for Bahl.

Eight days ago, on the tail end of a four game road trip, the Flames played a pretty solid road game in Winnipeg… bolstered by a spectacular performance from Wolf. They’re playing a scheduled loss game here, with a rested Jets team playing a Flames team playing their third game in four nights with travel. But the Flames know how they need to play to be successful, and the challenge will be to find a way to lure the Jets into playing a Flamesy hockey game. If you try to go toe-to-toe with the Jets, you’ll often lose.

Keep an eye on Andrei Kuzmenko, who exploded for three points on Saturday against the Wild and looked great.

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Gabe Vilardi
Cole Perfetti – Vladislav Namestnikov – Nikolaj Ehlers
Nino Niederreiter – Rasmus Kupari – Mason Appleton
Morgan Barron – David Gustafsson – Alex Iafallo

Josh Morrissey – Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg – Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley – Haydn Fleury

Eric Comrie will start for Winnipeg, backed up by Connor Hellebuyck. Their extras look to be Colin Miller and Ville Heinola.

As it stands, the Jets stand atop the Central Division with 69 points. The reason is that they’re a really good team. They have a strong goaltender, a couple strong blueliners to anchor their defensive group, and a forward group that has quite a few strong players to lead their attack. They’re a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, and that makes them a strong measuring stick for the Flames as they progress through their roster refresh process.

The Flames are without Anthony Mantha, Justin Kirkland, Connor Zary and Kevin Bahl. Tyson Barrie is with the Wranglers on a conditioning stint.

The Jets are without Adam Lowry.

This is the third and final meeting between these teams in the regular season. They’ve split their first two games evenly, winning one apiece.