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After a strong performance on the road, the Calgary Flames play host to the Carolina Hurricanes tonight and, well, it’s a little tough to say how things can really go.

I say this because the Flames have seemingly played very well against some of their stronger competition so far this season, and have found ways to start off slow or struggle throughout three periods of play against teams like Carolina who aren’t expected to go deep this year.

That being said, the Hurricanes have yet to snag two points during 60 minutes of play compared to Calgary’s four wins. All things considered however, the Hurricanes are due and guys like Semin are itching to put a few extra away.

Calgary should be a challenge for the visiting team as their defensive play and goaltending has been quite strong for an expected to be bottom feeding team. Jonas Hiller and Karri Ramo have been battling for that number one spot, and both are sitting neck and neck in that respect.

I’ve liked what both netminders have offered so far and it seems like they have slightly different type games. Ramo for instance, reminds me more of Miika Kiprusoff between the pipes given how he can be all over the place and still make some incredible saves.

Hiller, however, is a little more calm in net and structured, if you will. Personally I rather watch Hiller in net if only because he seems to possess a certain veteran quality that isn’t necessarily present in Ramo. Either way, you could flip the coin on either goalie right now and get some solid protection between those red pipes, not something many teams can express right now.

With respect to the game tonight, Calgary has not yet won a home game this season and they are hoping to break that negative streak tonight. As mentioned in my previous blog, the pretty play of Johnny Gaudreau continues to catch the attention of many, however he will need to continue to convert on opportunities as otherwise all the highlight reels “dangles” are worthless at the end of the night.

"I think we all knew Johnny could be a great game-breaker. That's no secret," Wideman said. "Whenever he has the puck in the offensive zone, he can control the play and control the game."

The Canes will have Jeff Skinner in the lineup who has been out with a concussion and he’s expected to start lighting it up soon. The young forward has a tremendous amount of talent and if he can stay healthy is a danger to any defensive pairing. And with all the talk of Skinner putting points up on the board for his team, the coach is more worried about his 200ft game, than anything.

"It was good to have him back, but we need Jeff Skinner, you know what I mean?" Peters said. "People think you're going to parachute in the lineup and be a star, it's not the way it works. We need him to get assertive and play responsibly."

Eric Staal is out of the Canes lineup which makes it that much more difficult for the team to string together points on the ice, and in the W column. Tlusty is currently leading the Canes in points with 4 goals and an assist so they will need to keep a close eye on him tonight. Forward Chris Terry is also having a good start to the season with 5 points of his own, however I don’t expect this to last.

Prediction for tonight: 3-1 Flames.

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