The Calgary Flames are officially in a rut.
They've won just two of their last six games – against poor teams like Colorado and Arizona – and have thrown up some absolute duds during that stretch.
Last week they generated only 21 scoring chances, the 2nd fewest of the season, at home against a Toronto team not exactly known for its defense.
They bounced back against the 30th placed Arizona Coyotes, only for things to fall off the rails again vs Edmonton. Calgary generated just 23 chances and allowed seven goals to a team missing several key players, including two of their best defensemen, due to injury. Not good.
Luckily, the Flames have a golden opportunity to get back on track tonight when they host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers, of course, are in the midst of a 10-game losing streak and have the majority of the fanbase calling for coach Dave Hakstol's head.
The situation is getting to be pretty toxic and that is no doubt hard for the team to play through. The Flames need to take advantage and pile on while the Flyers are down because they really need the points.
It's early, yes, but the Flames are outside of the playoff picture and have several perennial contenders around them who are likely to improve – like Minnesota and Anaheim – as they get healthy so the Flames can't afford to tread water.
They need to distance themselves a little bit and a win tonight would be a good start towards doing that.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Michael Ferland Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Sam Bennett - Mark Jankowski - Jaromir Jagr Garnet Hathaway - Matt Stajan - Troy Brouwer
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic Brett Kulak - Michael Stone
Mike Smith
Philadelphia (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Claude Giroux - Sean Couturier - Jakub Voracek Jordan Weal - Nolan Patrick - Wayne Simmonds Michael Raffl - Valtteri Filppula - Travis Konecny Jori Lehtera - Scott Laughton - Dale Weise
Ivan Provorov - Andrew MacDonald Shayne Gostisbehere - Robert Hagg Travis Sanheim - Brandon Manning
Brian Elliott
What to watch:
1) Voracek, Giroux, and Couturier have recorded 20, 19, and 17 points at 5v5 this year. The next closest forward on the Flyers is Konecny with six. Outside of the top line, the Flyers have gotten absolutely nothing offensively from their forwards so if the Flames can limit the damage of the top line, and/or stay out of the box and avoid handing out easy offensive opportunities, they'll be in good shape. The former is easier said than done, but having the 3M line (59.7CF%, 59.5xGF%) around certainly helps their chances.
2) The Bennett - Jankowski - Jagr line generally doesn't control the shot attempts, however, they find ways to get an edge in the scoring chance department more often than not. I think they could have a solid night given the Flyers are essentially a one-line team and this trio won't have to worry about them.
3) The Gostisbehere - Hagg pairing has been somewhat of a trainwreck as they control 44.8% of the attempts and have an expected goals for% of 42.12(!!) in more than 155 minutes together at full-strength. That's probably the pairing you want to target with the Gaudreau line.
4) The Flyers are not overly disciplined – only 11 teams have taken more penalties – and they rank 29th in goals against/60 while down a man, so this could be a good night for the PP.
5) In 46 games played, Stajan, Brouwer, and Hathaway have combined for three points and 34 shots at 5v5. Even against a top-heavy Flyers team, they probably won't provide much (anything?) of value.
Puck drop is just after 9:00 eastern and can be seen on SNW and NBCSP+.
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