The Calgary Flames have dropped consecutive games for the first time since January and are losing their footing in the Pacific Division playoff race.
Luckily for them, reinforcements are on the way as tonight Matthew Tkachuk is set to return from a two-game suspension he served for elbowing Drew Doughty in the face.
Tkachuk's return couldn't come at a better time. The Flames were not the same without him and will need all hands on deck if they're going to take out the St. Louis Blues tonight.
The Blues, a team that sold one of its best players for futures and fired their coach mid-season, are riding a four-game winning streak and have low-key won nine of their last 10 games.
The Flames need to find a way to get two points tonight because they're suddenly in danger of falling into the final wild card spot and a date with Chicago. I think the Blackhawks are a little worse than their record indicates but they have a) elite talent and; b) are incredibly good at home, making them a team you want to avoid. A win tonight helps do that.
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 - Michael Stone Matt Bartkowski - Deryk Engelland
Brian Elliott
And the expected lines for the Blues (via dailyfaceoff.com):
Jaden Schwartz - Alex Steen - Vladimir Tarasenko Zach Sanford - Patrik Berglund - David Perron Magnus Paajarvi - Ivan Barbashev - Nail Yakupov Scottie Upshall - Kyle Brodziak - Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo Joel Edmundson - Colton Parayko Carl Gunnarsson - Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
A few notes:
1) The Schwartz - Steen - Tarasenko line has been very effective in their limited time together controlling ~56% of the shot attempts. The Backlund line is going to have its hands full.
2) In Elliott's last start he lost his first game since February 5th. Can he get back on track right away or is the hot streak over?
3) The Flames have scored 70% of the goals with Giordano - Hamilton on the ice over the span of 854 minutes. I'd expect them to be leaned on heavily in this one.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 7:00 eastern and can be seen on CITY and FS-MW.