Five things to watch for when the Calgary Flames take on the San Jose Sharks:
1. Matchups San Jose's new-look top line of Evander Kane, Joe Pavelski, and Joonas Donskoi has been tremendous since it was put together.
In just under 77 minutes with this trio on the ice, the Sharks have won the shot attempt battle 98-67, out-scored opponents 7-2, and drawn four more penalties than they've taken.
It will be tough to slow them down, especially without the services of Matthew Tkachuk. The 2M + Sam Bennett line gives up ~10 more shot attempts/60 than the 3M line does and its Corsi is ~12% lower.
2. Kris Versteeg's return The veteran winger is expected to be in the lineup for the first time since late November.
There may be some rust but he should be able to provide some secondary scoring, which the Flames desperately need.
He'll also be a big help on the power play. Last season he finished 2nd only to Sean Monahan in PP points and led the team on a per game basis.
It's unlikely he'll be as efficient on the 2nd PP unit, where he is slated to play tonight. He should make it at least a little more dangerous, though.
3. Nothing comes easy The Sharks have the 4th best differential in the league and only Columbus and Carolina take fewer penalties. As such, it should be no surprise the Sharks have given up the fewest power play goals in the league.
They are very disciplined and have a strong PK that usually comes up big whenever they do get into penalty trouble.
Calgary probably can't rely on a big power play night in this one. They'll have to take care of business at even-strength.
4. A goaltending advantage Martin Jones is one of those guys whose perceived value exceeds his actual value. He has a .919 save percentage at 5v5 and ranks 23rd among 34 eligible goaltenders (1,400+ minutes) in that regard.
Mike Smith slots 2nd – behind only Pekka Rinne – owning a .933 save percentage at 5v5 in what has quietly been a fantastic season for him.
Anything can happen in a single game but, based on this year's play, one would think the Flames have the advantage between the pipes.
5. Volume shooters on defense This is often a storyline in Flames games and tonight will be no different.
Between Brent Burns (1st), and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (47th), the Sharks have two top-50 defenders in terms of individual shot generation while the Flames have three in Dougie Hamilton (2nd), Mark Giordano (7th), and Michael Stone (35th). There are a lot of defenders who like to get involved in this one.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Micheal Ferland Sam Bennett - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Kris Versteeg - Mark Jankowski - Garnet Hathaway Curtis Lazar - Matt Stajan - Troy Brouwer
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic Brett Kulak - Michael Stone
Mike Smith
San Jose (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Evander Kane - Joe Pavelski - Joonas Donskoi Tomas Hertl - Logan Couture - Mikkel Boedker Timo Meier - Chris Tierney - Kevin Labanc Melker Karlsson - Eric Fehr - Marcus Sorensen
Joakim Ryan - Brent Burns Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun Brenden Dillon - Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Puck drop is just after 9:00 eastern and can be seen on SNW and NBCSA.