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We know the Calgary Flames will be in the playoffs when they begin in a week's time.
Who they play is anyone's guess as Chicago, Anaheim, and Edmonton are all realistic possibilities while there also remains a chance, albeit a lesser one, they could end up playing San Jose.
Suffice to say, there is a lot to be decided in these final three games and tonight's contest could go a long way towards determining the matchup.
If the Flames get back on track and pick up any sort of win they will remain in the top Wild Card spot and, with a little help, get within one point of San Jose for 3rd in the Pacific.
If the Flames lose, they will likely sit in the final Wild Card spot as Nashville is just one point back and tonight play an Islanders team that just lost John Tavares for the season.
Nashville's games that follow tonight are against Winnipeg and Dallas, two teams playing for nothing, so it'd be tough for the Flames to make up ground and pass them if they fall behind.
That's why it's so important the Flames get back on track with a win against Anaheim. A loss, coupled with the expected win from the Preds, makes a date with Chicago in the opening round the most likely outcome. I don't think the Flames want that.
Here are the expected line combinations for the Flames:
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Micheal Ferland
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
Logan Shaw - Nate Thompson - Jared Boll
Cam Fowler - Brandon Montour
Hampus Lindholm - Josh Manson
Sami Vatanen - Kevin Bieksa
Jonathan Bernier
A few notes:
1) The Flames have been a solid 5v5 team all year long but last time out they were destroyed by the Ducks. Despite missing Lindholm and Vatanen, Anaheim out-chanced the Flames 23-11 at 5v5 and convincingly controlled the run of play. I'd expect a better effort from the Flames in this one; and they'll need it.
2) The Ducks .959 goaltending at 5v5 over the last 10 games. Their goaltenders are dialed in right now so the Flames probably won't be filling the net, which means Brian Elliott will have to be on his game for the Flames to win.
3) To the Bartkowski - Engelland pairing: none of this tonight, alright?
Tonight's game is scheduled for 10:00 eastern and can be seen on SN1 and PRIME.
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