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G53 Calgary Flames vs San Jose Sharks: Swimming In The Shark Tank |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
The suddenly hot Calgary Flames, winners of three out of four since the all-star break, are back in action tonight in San Jose.
They'll have reinforcements as Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan will return to the lineup following a one-game absence due to disciplinary reasons.
Standing in the way of two points tonight is a very good Sharks team that has won six of 10 and registered at least a point eight times in that span.
The good news is, for whatever reason, the Sharks have struggled at home this season having won just 10 of 24 games.
The Flames are hoping the Sharks' home woes continue as, with a win and some help, they could be within five points of a wild card spot by the end of the night.
LINEUPS
Gaudreau - Monahan - Hudler
Bennett - Backlund - Frolik
Ferland - Granlund - Jones
Bollig - Stajan - Jooris
Giordano - Brodie
Russell - Hamilton
Engelland - Smid
Hiller
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Hertl - Thornton - Pavelski
Nieto - Marleau - Ward
Donskoi - Couture - Wingels
Karlsson - Tierney - Brown
Martin - Burns
Vlasic - Braun
Dillon - DeMelo
Jones
Notes
1) The Flames are 11th in the NHL in 5 v 5 scoring chances per 60 minutes while the Sharks rank 5th best in terms of suppressing scoring chances.
2) Jonas Hiller has had a tough season but he's been excellent of late stopping 67-71 (.944SV%) over his last two starts. The Flames will need him to be on his game tonight against the NHL's 8th highest scoring team.
3) Joe Thornton has been scorching hot since mid-December as he's tallied 30 points in his 23 games. He's still a guy you have to game plan around.
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Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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