The Calgary Flames started last night's game as well as they could have hoped for.
They were in complete control of play for much of the 1st period and, besides a Matt Stajan penalty that led to a goal, there really wasn't much to complain about.
The Flames' level of play slowly declined as the game progressed and ultimately they came out on the losing end of a game they really needed to win.
Tonight's contest against Anaheim has become even more important as a result. Depending what happens elsewhere, Calgary could potentially reclaim a playoff spot with a win.
If they lose again, they'll get leapfrogged by Anaheim – and potentially Chicago – while falling further behind in the wild-card race.
The Ducks are a pretty good team, they're finally getting healthy, they're rested, and they're at home. Beating them will be a big time challenge. Let's see if the Flames are up for it.
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 - Jaromir Jagr
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic Brett Kulak - Michael Stone
Mike Smith
Anaheim (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Rickard Rakell - Ryan Getzlaf - Ondrej Kase Kevin Roy - Adam Henrique - Jakob Silfverberg Andrew Cogliano - Ryan Kesler - Chris Wagner Nick Ritchie - Antoine Vermette - Logan Shaw
Hampus Lindholm - Josh Manson Cam Fowler - Kevin Bieksa Francois Beauchemin - Brandon Montour
John Gibson
What to watch:
1) Calgary's top line has been really quiet of late. Gaudreau has five points in his last 11, Monahan has two in his last eight, and Ferland has five in his last 14. Not only are they struggling to put the puck in the net, but they haven't been generating as many chances and they've looked really out of sync at times. The Flames desparetaly need them to get going again but that'll likely be tough tonight as they figure to see a steady dose of Kesler's line and Lindholm's pairing. Not ideal.
2) Smith has been excellent of late posting a .931 save percentage over his last seven starts. They'll need him to stay hot in this one because the offense has really dried up of late and I think that's unlikely to change against John Gibson.
3) One under the radar player to watch is Kase. Among regulars, he ranks 1st on the Ducks in 5v5 points per 60 minutes and 2nd in shots/60. He's now getting a good opportunity on the top line and he has the skillset to take advantage of it.
4) Your Bennett - Jankowski - Hathaway update: 57.5CF%, 56.6 xGF%, +6 penalty differential. They've been carving up opposing teams for weeks now and the Flames need that to continue with the top-6 struggling to produce.
5) If there's a glaring weakness on this Anaheim team, it's their 3rd pairing. Beauchemin's best days are long behind him and he's dragging Montour down with him. They have been bleeding more shots than any other pairing on the roster and own a xGF% of 43 so they can be taken advantage of.
Puck drop is just after 10:00 eastern and can be seen on SNW and FS-W.