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G12 Calgary @ San Jose: Swimming with the Sharks

November 3, 2016, 1:39 PM ET [67 Comments]
Todd Cordell
Calgary Flames Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell

The score didn't necessarily reflect how the game was played but, after being on the wrong end of a 5-1 game, the Calgary Flames are looking to bounce back tonight in San Jose.

The Flames certainly have their work cut out for them against the Sharks. They won the Western Conference last year and figure to have a good chance to do so again this season.

Their only notable loss, if you'll call it that, was Roman Polak and they replaced him with the underrated David Schlemko in the off-season. They also signed winger Mikkel Boedker to add more scoring depth to the team.

To date the Sharks own a respectable 6-4-0 record but probably deserve better. At 5 v 5, where most of every game is played, the Sharks are controlling ~54.5% of the shots and ~55% of the scoring chances. They rank top-3 in each category.

The Sharks are loaded from top to bottom and they are a perfect 4-0-0 on home soil this season. They're going to give the Flames all they can handle.

Here are the Flames' expected line combinations:

Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Alex Chiasson
Kris Versteeg - Sam Bennett - Troy Brouwer
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Micheal Ferland - Matt Stajan - Lance Bouma

Mark Giordano - T.J. Brodie
Jyrki Jokipakka - Dougie Hamilton
Brett Kulak - Deryk Engelland

Chad Johnson

And the expected lines for the Sharks:

Mikkel Boedker - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski
Joonas Donskoi - Logan Couture - Joel Ward
Patrick Marleau - Tomas Hertl - Melker Karlsson
Michael Haley - Chris Tierney - Tommy Wingels

Paul Martin - Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun
Brendan Dillon - David Schlemko

Martin Jones

A few notes:

1) The Sharks are one of the best teams at creating shots, and chances, at full-strength while the Flames allow/generate a fair bit themselves. There should be a lot of chances in this game.

2) Monahan has two points in his last seven games, one in his last four and his shot rates are down this season. He is now being paid as a high-end player. It's time to play like one.

3) Despite regularly playing against opposing team's best players the Tkachuk - Backlund - Frolik unit has been the Flames' best defensive line by a wide margin. The Flames don't have last change but they need to try and get that line out against San Jose's top unit whenever possible.

Tonight's game is scheduled for 10:30 eastern and can be seen on Sportsnet 360 and CSN-CA.

Recent posts:

Report: Flames would like another top-6 forward

On the Flames' struggling top line, Tkachuk and Elliott

Flames, Gaudreau agree to long-term extension

Predicting the Pacific Division standings

Pacific Division bold predictions

Pacific Division breakout players
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