As we continue along with our NHL 20 game sims, we see the simulated Calgary Flames hit the road. Their first stop? The virtual Madison Square Garden on March 16 when they visited the New York Rangers.

The result? A fairly decisive 5-1 victory for the Flames.

Lineups

Flames:

Forwards: Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm, Mangiapane-Backlund-Tkachuk, Lucic-Ryan-Dube, Bennett-Jankowski-Rieder
Defense: Giordano-Brodie, Hanifin-Hamonic, Gustafsson-Andersson
Goalies: Talbot starting, Rittich as backup

Noah Hanifin makes a return from his upper body injury, which bumps Derek Forbort out. The defensive pairings shuffle around a bit to accommodate Hanifin’s return.

Rangers:

Forwards: di Giuseppe-Zibanejad-Buchnevich, Panarin-Strome-Fast, Lemieux-Howden-Kakko, Fogarty-McKegg-Gauthier
Defense: Smith-Trouba, Staal-DeAngelo, Lindgren-Fox
Goalies: Georgiev starting, with Lundqvist as backup

Results

The Flames continued their strong play from the homestand, scoring first and leading the entire way.

Score	Scoring Line	Details
1-0 Flames	Tkachuk 25 (Backlund 32, Hamonic 10) 6:26 first	Tip of wrist shot.
2-0 Flames	Hamonic 4 (Lucic 17, Hanifin 18) 7:32 first	One timer from the point.
3-0 Flames	Lindholm 32 (Gaudreau 42, Giordano 28) 3:19 second	Wrist shot off the rush.
3-1 Flames	Strome (Panarin) 6:18 second	Wrist shot off the rush.
4-1 Flames	Bennett 10 (Brodie 19, Giordano 29) 15:11 second	Tip of point shot.
5-1 Flames	Mangiapane 20 (Backlund 33, Hamonic 11) 19:59 second	Wrist shot off the rush.

Three Stars

Travis Hamonic (Flames)
Cam Talbot (Flames)
Mark Giordano (Flames)

Updated Standings

With the win, the Flames improve to 39-27-7 and have 85 points. Updating the remainder of the relevant Western Conference standings with the Athletic’s game-by-game projections, here’s how things look at the end of the night on March 16.

Pacific Division