#Flames head coach Bill Peters said he hasn’t made a decision on the starting goaltender. Valimaki missed today’s practice with a lower body injury. And asked Peters about if they’ve considered sitting James Neal: “I haven’t. We think he’s trending in the right direction.”
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Juuso Valimaki questionable for Sunday, Oliver Kylington might play
The Calgary Flames are in a bit of a good news/bad news situation regarding their young blueliners. Defenseman Juuso Valimaki missed Saturday’s practice with a lower-body injury, which may open the door for Oliver Kylington to play on Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes.
Recalled from the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat earlier this week, Kylington was paired with Travis Hamonic in Saturday’s skate. A second round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Kylington has suited up for one NHL game in his pro career – on April 9, 2016, in a meaningless Game 82 outing – and this would be his first big league appearance in two and a half years. By all accounts he’s been superb for the Heat so far this season.
Projected defensive pairings would likely look like this in the two main scenarios:
Valimaki in | Valimaki out |
Giordano – Brodie | Giordano – Brodie |
Hanifin – Hamonic | Hanifin – Andersson |
Valimaki – Andersson | Kylington – Hamonic |
No other changes are expected to the Flames’ skaters, while it’s unclear which of David Rittich or Mike Smith would start in net.