Five things to watch when the Calgary Flames take on the New Jersey Devils in the season's first edition of the Todd Cordell Bowlâ„¢:
1. The biggest mismatch imaginable When a team is struggling and dealing with a few injuries, you often hear fans refer to them as an AHL team. In most cases, that's vastly over-exaggerated. Not tonight.
Beyond the four regulars New Jersey traded prior to the deadline, they will be without Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Miles Wood, Jesper Bratt, Pavel Zacha and John Quenneville, among others, due to injury. As a result, nine players who have spent meaningful time in the AHL this season will be dressing. Nine.
This significantly watered down Devils lineup, which wasn't very good to begin with, has the luxury of taking on a loaded Calgary Flames team that sits 2nd in the NHL in wins, points, and goal differential.
If the Flames take the Devils seriously, they should easily win their 7th consecutive win.
2. Big Save Dave David Rittich has hit a bit of a wall of late, posting a sub .900 save percentage in five of his last nine appearances (~55%) after doing so just eight times over his first 26 (~31%).
Though he'll have a somewhat tired team playing in front of him, there will be no better bounce-back opportunity than the one in front of him tonight. New Jersey's lineup features just four players with more than five goals and three players with more than 30 points. If the Flames take the Devils seriously, the latter should have a very difficult time testing Rittich with any regularity. He'll just need to make the basic saves.
3. A glimpse into the future Not many players – especially up front – will be key pieces for the Devils moving forward. They're hoping Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian are among the exceptions.
McLeod looked a little uneasy last game but he did show *some* flashes and his AHL production, particularly at 5v5, leaves reason to be optimistic about him. Percentage driven or otherwise, Bastian found his scoring touch in Binghamton before being recalled and brought that with him finding the back of the net last time out.
While not an easy task, it'd be nice to see those two put together solid performances, and progress, against Calgary. The opportunity should be there.
4. A get right spot for Calgary's power play? New Jersey has killed penalties very effectively this season. Due to injuries, or trades, they will not have several integral parts of that success, including Ben Lovejoy, Pavel Zacha, and Brian Boyle. Couple lost personnel with discipline issues and it's not hard to envision Calgary's power play, which has scored just four times over the last nine, enjoying some success in this one.
5. Mackenzie Blackwood Let's face it, the Devils are going to get out-shot and out-chanced tonight. Likely by significant margins. If they are to have any chance of winning, Blackwood will have to steal the game. He has shown that ability several times, having already picked up two shutout wins, and three where he made 37 saves or more. Can he do it again?
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Elias Lindholm Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Sam Bennett - Mark Jankowski - Austin Czarnik Andrew Mangiapane - Derek Ryan - Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano - T.J Brodie Noah Hanifin - Travis Hamonic Oscar Fantenberg - Rasmus Andersson
David Rittich
New Jersey
Blake Coleman - Nico Hischier - Nick Lappin Kenny Agostino - Travis Zajac - Drew Stafford Blake Pietila - Michael McLeod - Nathan Bastian Egor Yakovlev - Kevin Rooney - Kurtis Gabriel
Andy Greene - Damon Severson Mirco Mueller - Sami Vatanen Will Butcher - Connor Carrick
Mackenzie Blackwood
Puck drop is just after 7:00 eastern and can be seen on SN1 and MSG+.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
Recent posts: