Following a couple lackluster performances, the Calgary Flames will attempt to get back on track tonight in Arizona.
It would seem the Flames have a good chance of doing just that as the Coyotes have struggled immensely all season long and are at or near the bottom of the league in almost every major statistic.
The Coyotes are tied for last in wins with just 11 in 31 games and they have a minus-27 goal differential on the year, which puts them 29th in the NHL.
Analytically, the Coyotes come off even worse. At 5v5, they are last in Corsi For%, last in Scoring Chance For% and last in High Danger Scoring Chance For%. They have been absolutely dominated in that game state all season long and if anything, they have been even worse of late.
The Flames aren't perfect -- far from it -- but, by all accounts, they are much better than the Coyotes. This is a win the Flames should get, and one they need.
Here are the expected line combinations for the Flames:
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Johnny Gaudreau - Sam Bennett - Alex Chiasson Kris Versteeg - Sean Monahan - Troy Brouwer Micheal Ferland - Matt Stajan - Lance Bouma
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Dennis Wideman Jyrki Jokipakka - Deryk Engelland
Chad Johnson
And the expected lines for the Coyotes (via dailyfaceoff.com):
Brendan Perlini - Martin Hanzal - Radim Vrbata Tobias Rieder - Jordan Martinook - Shane Doan Jamie McGinn - Peter Holland - Anthony Duclair Lawson Crouse - Christian Dvorak - Josh Jooris
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Luke Schenn Alex Goligoski - Anthony DeAngelo Jakob Chychrun - Connor Murphy
Mike Smith
A few notes:
1) The Flames haven't been great at 5v5 of late but this the perfect opportunity to get back on track. The Coyotes allow more shot attempts and chances than anyone on a per 60-minute basis. If the Flames show up and don't take the Coyotes lightly, they should win this convincingly.
2) The right side of the Coyotes' defense is very weak. Target them with zone entries and, if you're going to dump it in, throw it into their corner. Force them to make plays with the puck while pressures as, in each case, the better puck mover is on the left side.
3) Brian Elliott recently made a relief appearance, in which he looked good stopping 12-13, but hasn't started a game this month. With Chad Johnson hitting a bit of a wall, the opportunity is there for Elliott to take some starts back. A good showing tonight would go a long way towards doing that.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 9:00 eastern and can be seen on SNF and FS-A.