Five things to watch for when the Calgary Flames take on the Los Angeles Kings:
1. Another goaltending mismatch Among 35 eligible goaltenders (600+ minutes) Mike Smith ranks last with an .875 save percentage since January 31st. He has not been good. In fact, he's been horrible.
During that same span Jonathan Quick ranks 9th with an impressive .924 save percentage. He's a big reason the Kings are still in the thick of a playoff race.
If both guys continue on their current trajectories, the Kings should have a big advantage between the pipes.
2. Who is going to score? Putting the puck in the net has been a massive problem for the Flames of late. They have scored three goals in their last four games(!) and just 12 in their last eight.
Now, for the first time, they'll be without their three leading producers in Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk.
The Flames were a top heavy team to begin with – especially up front – and now, well, there isn't really a top.
Ferland is the only forward dressing who has scored more than 13 goals this season and he's in the midst of a horrific slump where he's found twine just once in 21 games.
I don't know where the offense is going to come from in this one, especially against a solid, and desperate, defensive team like Los Angeles.
3. Rasmus Andersson I have to highlight Andersson again because he's pretty much the only reason this game is worth watching.
I think he played his best game since being recalled last time out. He logged a season-high 15:26 and the Flames out-chanced the Sharks 10-5 with him on the ice at 5v5.
He made some accurate outlets – including a perfect stretch pass to create a great chance for Mikael Backlund – and didn't hesitate to rush the puck up ice or jump into the play when space was available to him. Hopefully we see more of that tonight.
4. Offense from the defense As previously mentioned, the Flames don't have much scoring pop in their lineup.
If they're going to have a remotely threatening attack, they need their defense to get involved. Dougie Hamilton has been shooting anything and everything of late. Mark Giordano is a pretty consistent producer. Andersson is gifted offensively. Those guys need to contribute.
5. Young Sam Bennettâ„¢
The bad news is he has three 5v5 points over his last 12 games. The good news is he's tallied 35 scoring chances during that stretch, which ties him with the likes of Tyler Seguin and David Pastrnak for 12th. If he keeps generating quality looks, he should get rewarded.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Curtis Lazar - Sam Bennett - Micheal Ferland Troy Brouwer - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Nick Shore - Mark Jankowski - Chris Stewart Tanner Glass - Matt Stajan - Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton Michael Stone - Travis Hamonic Brett Kulak - Rasmus Andersson
Mike Smith
Los Angeles (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Alex Iafallo - Anze Kopitar - Dustin Brown Tanner Pearson - Jeff Carter - Adrian Kempe Kyle Clifford - Nate Thompson - Tyler Toffoli Tobias Rieder - Mike Amadio - Andy Andreoff
Derek Forbort - Drew Doughty Dion Phaneuf - Alec Martinez Jake Muzzin - Christian Folin
Jonathan Quick
Puck drop is just after 10:30 eastern and can be seen on SNW and FS-W.
Note: data via NaturalStatTrick.com and Corsica.Hockey.
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