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Five things to watch for when the Calgary Flames take on the Winnipeg Jets:
1. Spencer Foo
He played 12:45 in his debut and had a couple good looks but was nothing special. He played 17:25 in his 2nd game and led the Flames in shot attempts, shots, chances, and did everything but score. A case could be made he was the most dangerous player on the ice. The Flames are shallow up front – especially on the right side – so it'd be nice to see him play well and continue to look like someone who belongs in the NHL.
2. Power(less) play
Remember when the Flames looked respectable on the man advantage for a couple weeks? That was fun.
Lately they've reverted back to early season mode on the PP. Actually, they've been worse than they were early in the year. And that's saying something.
Over the last 17 games, the Flames have scored one power play goal. One. As embarrassing as that is, it's not even the worst of it. They've given up two short handed goals during that span.
So, over the course of more than 20% of the season, the Flames have been out-scored while playing with an extra man.
I know Johnny Gaudreau has missed time while Matthew Tkachuk and Sean Monahan continue to do so. Still, this is the NHL. There are a lot of guys making a lot of money to play. There are coaches making a lot of money to increase the likelihood of their guys having success. And they're having none.
The Flames have been tough to watch in a lot of areas this season. On the power play may top the list.
3. More Shore!
Perhaps the biggest positive for the Flames of late has been the play of Nick Shore. Am I grasping at straws here? Probably, but stick with me.
Shore has played 85 minutes at 5v5 since being acquired by the Flames. In those 85 minutes, the Flames have out-chanced opponents 56-36 (60.9 SCF%).
He has also averaged more than 18 shot attempts per 60 minutes, which ranks him 2nd to only Dougie Hamilton in that span.
He's only a depth guy but he's a good one at that. He should be a staple on the 4th line next season.
4. Jon Gillies
He owns an .885 save percentage on the year has posted a sub .900SV% in four consecutive starts. He should see plenty of rubber given a) how potent Winnipeg's offense is and; b) how much the team in front of him has struggled of late. If he isn't on his game, it could get ugly.
5. Winnipeg's '2nd' line
Since being acquired at the deadline, Paul Stastny has centered Nik Ehlers and Patrik Laine on the 2nd line and they've had great success. They've controlled larger shares of the shot attempts and chances while, more importantly, dominating in the goal department. At 5v5, they have a plus-8 edge (15 for, seven against) in less than 200 minutes of ice.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau - Sam Bennett - Spencer Foo
Troy Brouwer - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Micheal Ferland - Nick Shore - Curtis Lazar
Tanner Glass - Mark Jankowski - Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton
Brett Kulak - Michael Stone
Matt Bartkowski - Rasmus Andersson
*Travis Hamonic is questionable. If he plays, Stone likely shifts to the left side and Kulak drops down in Bartkowski's spot.
Mike Smith
Winnipeg
Kyle Connor - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Nik Ehlers - Paul Stastny - Patrik Laine
Mathieu Perreault - Bryan Little - Joel Armia
Andrew Copp - Adam Lowry - Jack Roslovic
Josh Morrissey - Jacob Trouba
Sami Niku - Dustin Byfuglien
Ben Chiarot - Tyler Myers
Connor Hellebuyck
Puck drop is just after 8:00 eastern and can be seen on SNW and TSN3.
Note: data via NaturalStatTrick.com and Corsica.Hockey.
Recent posts:
On the possibility of trading into the 1st round
Gaudreau - Monahan - Ferland line has been one of league's best this season