Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
Five things to watch for when the Calgary Flames take on the Boston Bruins:
1. 3M vs BOS1
With the Flames on home soil, they control the matchups.
One we can expect to see, which wasn't the case last week in Boston, is the 3M line vs the Patrice Bergeron line.
The 3M line has been spectacular this season, especially on home soil. In ~285 5v5 minutes together at the Saddledome, they own a 63 Corsi For%, 64 Expected Goals For%, and give up 1.65 expected goals per hour.
To put in perspective how ridiculous that is, the Minnesota Wild rank 1st allowing 1.99 expected goals per hour.
For the 3M line to post those numbers at home – while playing elite competition, no less – is remarkable. If anyone can slow down Boston's top line, it's them.
2. Calgary's power play vs Boston's penalty kill
Calgary has scored a power play marker in four of the last five games and mostly looked good in the process. The one exception? Last week vs Boston.
In almost 10 minutes of power play time, the Flames actually gave up more high-danger looks than they generated. That can't happen.
The power play showed signs of life heading into that game and has been effective since. It'll be interesting to see if that continues or if the power play reverts back to it's usual, underwhelming self.
3. Dougie Hamilton
No Flames player has recorded more points than Douglas Hamilton IV over the last 11 games. During that time, he has tallied 12 (five goals, seven assists) while piling up 37 shots on goal and 76 shot attempts.
He's been strong all season long but has taken it up a notch, especially since he's started seeing more ice on the top power play unit.
4. A better effort from the Flames
Last time these teams met, the Flames played 10-15 acceptable minutes before handing the keys over to David Rittich and telling him to take care of the rest.
The result was what you'd expect when going up against one of the league's best teams.
With the Flames desperate for points, and back on home soil, I'd expect a much better effort from them this afternoon.
5. 3rd line rotation
Lately the Flames have been rotating some of their top wingers – mostly Gaudreau and Tkachuk – onto the 3rd line with Mark Jankowski and Sam Bennett for a shift here and there. It seems to be paying off as the latter two have combined for three goals over the last four games and looked a lot more dangerous in the process.
I think the Flames will bring in a top-9 winger at the deadline if they're in a playoff spot but, in the meantime, Gaudreau and Tkachuk are going to get some double duty to try and help the Flames get more offense from their bottom-6. So far it's working.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Micheal Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Sam Bennett - Mark Jankowski - Garnet Hathaway
Curtis Lazar - Matt Stajan - Ryan Lomberg
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton
T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak - Michael Stone
David Rittich/Mike Smith
Boston Bruins (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Ryan Spooner
Danton Heinen - Riley Nash - David Backes
Tim Schaller - Sean Kuraly - Noel Acciari
Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk - Adam McQuaid
Tuukka Rask
Puck drop is just after 4:00 eastern and can be seen on SNW, NESN and NHLN-US.
Recent posts:
The Flames were smart to re-sign Mikael Backlund
Gaudreau - Monahan - Ferland line has been one of league's best this season
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»