Five things to watch for when the Calgary Flames take on the New York Rangers:
1. A get right game Things haven't been going well for the Flames of late. At this point in the year every game is pivotal and the Flames have come up on the wrong end of things more often than not over the last couple weeks. They've dropped five or their last seven games and their only wins have come against Arizona and Colorado.
The Flames are in desperate need of two points tonight, which is why they should be thrilled the New York Rangers are coming to town.
The Rangers weren't a good team to begin with, especially defensively, and that's especially true with the likes of Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh, among others, no longer in the mix.
They are now an absolute train wreck. Over the last five contests, they rank 31st in shot suppression and are coming off a game in which they allowed 55 shots to the Vancouver Canucks. Let that sink in.
This is a perfect opportunity for the Flames to get back on track. They need to take advantage of it.
2. 3M vs NYR1 There haven't been many positives for the Rangers this season but the play of their current top line can qualify as one.
In 232 minutes together at 5v5, the Rangers have controlled 55.5% of the shot attempts and 56.8% of the expect goals. Those are elite numbers.
This will be another good test for the 3M line, which seemingly passes each one with flying colours.
If that's the case again tonight, the Flames will have an excellent chance of getting back in the win column.
3. Taking the net? David Rittich's game has fallen off a cliff of lately but, luckily, Jon Gillies has been there to pick up the pieces for the Flames. Through three starts, he owns a .945 save percentage and has allowed two or less each time. If he continues to show well, he could potentially take Rittich's spot – at least temporarily – as the backup when Mike Smith returns. The points are too important to give a struggling backup time to find his footing.
4. John Gilmour While the Rangers as a whole have been a disaster of late, that hasn't been the case for 24-year-old blue liner John Gilmour.
In 10 games since being recalled, he's managed an impressive 53.4 Corsi For% at 5v5 while firing 60 shot attempts at the net in all situations.
He can skate, move the puck, and he likes to get involved offensively. Watch out for him tonight.
5. Discipline The Flames have a decisive advantage at 5v5 play. It's not even close. They have a lot more star power and favorable matchups across the board. If they stay out of the box and keep things at even-strength, they should have no problem taking care of business. If they parade to the box like they did in Colorado...well, they can enjoy watching playoff hockey from home come April.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
*questionable
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Sam Bennett Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Chris Stewart - Mark Jankowski - Garnet Hathaway Curtis Lazar/Matt Stajan - Nick Shore* - Troy Brouwer
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic Brett Kulak - Michael Stone
Jon Gillies
New York (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Pavel Buchnevich Ryan Spooner - Kevin Hayes - Jesper Fast Jimmy Vesey - Vladislav Namestnikov - Mats Zuccarello Paul Carey - David Desharnais - Cody McLeod
Brady Skjei - John Gilmour Marc Staal - Neal Pionk Rob O'Gara - Anthony DeAngelo
Henrik Lundqvist
Puck drop is just after 9:00 eastern and can be seen on SNW and MSG 2.
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