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Heading into the series, the Calgary Flames were big underdogs. The Anaheim Ducks didn't lose in regulation over the final 14 games of the season and had home ice against a team that has now lost 29 consecutive games at the Honda Center. In theory, it made sense the Ducks were reasonably heavy favorites.
The Flames must have missed the memo, though. Through two games they have tallied 56 scoring chances at 5v5 and out-chanced the Ducks by 14 in that game state. They have carried the play at full-strength, where most of every game is played, and actually lead all playoff teams in scoring chances per minute at 5v5 by a good margin.
Despite that, the Flames returned to Calgary without a win. On one hand, the Flames' play leaves reason to be optimistic they can come back and at least make this a series. On the other, they're playing about as well as possible at full-strength and have gotten nothing to show for it. What happens if their play dips a little or if the Ducks hit their stride? That's something the Flames don't want an answer to.
That's why it is imperative the Flames get on the board tonight and make this a series. If they lose again tonight, they may as well pull out white flags because they're not beating a team as talented as the Ducks four times in a row, especially with how well John Gibson is playing. This is a must-win game.
Here are the expected line combinations for the Flames:
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Micheal Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Kris Versteeg - Sam Bennett - Alex Chiasson
Lance Bouma - Matt Stajan - Troy Brouwer
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton
T.J. Brodie - Michael Stone
Matt Bartkowski - Deryk Engelland
Brian Elliott
And the expected lines for the Ducks (via dailyfaceoff.com):
Rickard Rakell - Ryan Getzlaf - Patrick Eaves
Andrew Cogliano - Ryan Kesler - Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie - Antoine Vermette - Corey Perry
Chris Wagner - Nate Thompson - Logan Shaw
Sami Vatanen - Josh Manson
Hampus Lindholm - Brandon Montour
Shea Theodore - Kevin Bieksa
John Gibson
A few notes:
1) Randy Carlyle chases matchups a lot and to this point he has put Kesler on Gaudreau's line quite a bit. Historically, that has worked in Anaheim's favor but Calgary's top unit has eaten him alive through two playoff games.
2) Calgary has played Anaheim well at full-strength but handed them both games by taking too many penalties, including some bad ones. If they can stay disciplined they'll have a shot. If not, this series won't last long. Anaheim has too many weapons not to take advantage of 5.5 power plays per game.
3) Gibson is playing fantastic hockey right now. He is stopping everything he sees and has consistently made 2nd and 3rd effort saves. The Flames have to get more bodies in front of him and make his life as difficult as possible.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 10:00 eastern and can be seen on CBC and NBCSN.
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