Tonight the Calgary Flames will attempt to win their 11th consecutive game and make history by setting a new team record in the process.
Standing in the way is a Boston Bruins team that is firing on all cylinders. They have won seven of their last 10 games, three in a row and outscored their opponents 14-5 in the process.
The Bruns really need the points -- they're just three clear of the final wild-card spot, which would mean a date with a Metro powerhouse in round 1 -- so there will be some desperation and urgency in their game.
It's also fair to say that players get up for games where they can spoil the party for others and they could do just that with a win this evening.
The thing the Flames have working for him, besides the fact they've simply been playing great hockey of late, is that the Bruins are expected to start Anton Khudobin in goal.
Khudobin has a sub .900 save percentage in 10 starts this season and has won just 15 of his last 54 starts dating back to 2014-15 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
This should be another good game between two good teams but, based on recent performance, I think it's fair to say the Flames have the advantage in goal, which could very well be the difference.
Here are the expected line combinations for the Flames:
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Micheal Ferland Kris Versteeg - Sam Bennett - Troy Brouwer Lance Bouma - Matt Stajan -…‹ …‹Alex Chiasson
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Deryk Engelland Matt Bartkowski - Dennis Wideman
Brian Elliott
And the expected lines for the Bruins (via dailyfaceoff.com):
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Backes Drew Stafford - David Krejci - David Pastrnak Matt Beleskey - Riley Nash - Frank Vatrano Peter Cehlarik - Dominic Moore - Jimmy Hayes
Zdeno Chara - Brandon Carlo Torey Krug - Adam McQuaid Colin Miller - Kevan Miller
Anton Khudobin
A few notes:
1) The Bruins are controlling just under 55% of the 5v5 shots over the last 10 games, which puts them No. 1 in that span, and we all know how well the Flames are playing. This is going to be a slugfest.
2) Marchand has 10 goals in his last 10 games and is playing as well as anyone in hockey right now. It'll be interesting to see if the Backlund line can slow him down.
3) The Bruins are 4th in 5v4 shot attempts per 60 and top-10 in power play percentage. As always, discipline will be key for the Flames. They'll get burned (no pun intended) if they spoonfed guys like Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak shifts with extra time and space to work with.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 9:00 eastern and can be seen on SN and NESN.
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