The Calgary Flames are back in action tonight looking to extend their winning streak to three games – and head into the holiday break on a high note – when they play host to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canadiens started the season in disastrous fashion but they are starting to right the ship. They have gone a solid 6-3-1 over the last 10 games and controlled 52.2% of the scoring chances over that stretch, which is good for 9th in the league.
Naturally, as soon as things start going well they get the rug pulled beneath them as Shea Weber has been sent home with a foot injury and will not play tonight.
That's obviously a big loss for them, and a big win for Calgary, given their defense core wasn't anything special to begin with.
It's been an up and down year for the Flames but if they can find a way to come out on the right side of another very winnable game, they could well find themselves holding onto a playoff spot heading into the break.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Michael Ferland Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Sam Bennett - Mark Jankowski - Garnet Hathaway Troy Brouwer - Matt Stajan - Freddie Hamilton
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Michael Stone Brett Kulak - Matt Bartkowski
Mike Smith
Montreal (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Max Pacioretty - Jonathan Drouin - Paul Byron Alex Galchenyuk - Phillip Danault - Andrew Shaw Charles Hudon - Tomas Plekanec - Brendan Gallagher Nicolas Deslauriers - Byron Froese - Daniel Carr
Jordie Benn - Jeff Petry Karl Alzner - Jakub Jerabek David Schlemko - Joe Morrow
Carey Price
What to watch:
1) Last time out the 3M line completely blanketed Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn, one of the league's best duos this season, holding them to just two shots on goal. It'll be interesting to see if they can duplicate that performance against Pacioretty and Drouin. If they can, the Flames will almost certainly come out on top.
2) No Travis Hamonic = more minutes for Stone. A lot more. It also means Matt Bartkowski jumps into the lineup. Unless the game is in complete control, I'm guessing Glen Gulutzan will be running the top-4 into the ground – as he should, especially heading into a break.
3) Benn and Petry are good chance suppressors but, after that, the Canadiens' defense is a disaster. The Flames' top-9 should be able to feast regardless of matchups so Carey Price will need to be on his game for the Habs to have a shot.
4) Don't sleep on the Hudon - Plekanec - Gallagher line. They've played a hair over 200 minutes together at 5v5 and own a 63xGF%, meaning they are routinely getting the better of the chances against their opponents.
5) Smith has a .935 save percentage over his last seven starts. He hasn't been tested a ton over that frame, though, and will likely see an uptick in shots without Hamonic in the lineup. The Flames need another good game from him.
Puck drop is just after 9:00 eastern and can be seen on SNW, TSN2, and RDS.
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