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It wasn't pretty at times, but the Calgary Flames survived their insanely difficult road trip (six games in nine nights) by posting a respectable 3-2-1 record even without their best player.
Tonight they'll be looking to make some noise on home soil as they begin a three-game homestand against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs are a good team, one I think will make the playoffs when all is said and done, but they have struggled immensely on the road thus far. Despite picking up an impressive 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers last night they have just two wins in 11 tries away from home soil.
They are also going to be playing in the latter half of a back-to-back while the Flames are rested so the Flames do have some things working in their favor.
Still, the Maple Leafs will likely give the Flames all they can handle. They are tied for 4th in the league in goals, and rank even higher in goals per game, while the Flames are 28th in goals against.
If their team defense isn't better than it has been for much of the season they're going to get exposed.
Here are the expected line combinations for the Flames:
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Kris Versteeg - Sean Monahan - Troy Brouwer
Sam Bennett - Matt Stajan - Alex Chiasson
Micheal Ferland - Freddie Hamilton - Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton
T.J. Brodie - Deryk Engelland
Jyrki Jokipakka - Dennis Wideman
Chad Johnson
And the expected lines for the Maple Leafs:
**may not start due to back-to-back
James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman - Auston Matthews - Connor Brown
Leo Komarov - Nazem Kadri - Nikita Soshnikov
Matt Martin - William Nylander - Ben Smith
Morgan Rielly - Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner - Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick - Roman Polak
**Frederik Andersen
A few notes:
1) The Flames are a middle of the pack team in terms of generating shots at 5 v 5 while the Maple Leafs are 28th at suppressing them. The Flames should get their share of good looks tonight, especially with Toronto in a back-to-back situation.
2) Matthews gets a lot of the headlines -- and deservedly so -- but the JvR - Bozak - Marner line may be Toronto's best offensively. Glen Gulutzan should try and get the Giordano - Hamilton pairing out against them when possible.
3) Johnson has been excellent for the Flames over the last few weeks but was knocked around a bit in his last start. He'll need to be good tonight because the Leafs are going to generate a lot of good chances.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 8:30 eastern and can be seen on Sportsnet.
Recent posts:
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On Johnson's strong play, Hamilton, Bennett and more
On smart bets in goal, Monahan's struggles, Hamilton's usage and more
Predicting the Pacific Division standings
Pacific Division bold predictions
Pacific Division breakout players
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