At this point in the season getting a top-2 spot in the Pacific Division and earning home ice is unlikely at best -- Calgary is five points back of Edmonton with five games remaining -- but the No. 3 seed is still very much in play.
It just so happens the Flames host the team they're chasing tonight in the San Jose Sharks.
The Flames currently sit three points back of the San Jose with both sides having five games remaining. The Sharks are in the midst of a free-fall down the standings, though.
They have lost seven of eight, their goaltending hasn't been good, they just lost Logan Couture to injury and tonight they're playing in the latter half of a back-to-back. If there was ever a time you'd want to play the Sharks, it's right now.
I'm expecting a much better effort from the Flames this time around as they didn't really show up vs Los Angeles. If that's the case, the Flames should be able to take advantage of a vulnerable Sharks team and get within striking distance of the No. 3 spot in the Pacific.
Call me crazy, but I'd rather play Edmonton than Anaheim or Chicago, both of whom have points in nine of 10 and own fantastic records on home soil. Two points tonight would go a long way towards seeing a Battle of Alberta in the opening round.
Here are the expected line combinations for the Flames:
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Micheal Ferland Kris Versteeg - Matt Stajan - Troy Brouwer Lance Bouma - Sam Bennett - Alex Chiasson
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Michael Stone Matt Bartkowski - Deryk Engelland
Brian Elliott
And the expected lines for the Sharks (via dailyfaceoff.com):
Jannik Hansen - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski Mikkel Boedker - Patrick Marleau - Melker Karlsson Marcus Sorensen - Tomas Hertl - Joel Ward Joonas Donskoi - Chris Tierney - Timo Meier
Paul Martin - Brent Burns Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun Brendan Dillon - David Schlemko
Martin Jones
A few notes:
1) Over the last 10 games, Brent Burns is 2nd in the NHL with 53 shot attempts at 5v5. Only Alex Ovechkin (54) has more in that frame.
2) The Sharks have allowed 23 goals over the last five games and 20+ 5v5 scoring chances in eight consecutive games. They're not playing great defense right now, and both goaltenders are struggling, so the Flames should be able to get back on track offensively.
3) San Jose has allowed the 4th most scoring chances per 60 minutes while up a man while the Backlund-Frolik duo, in particular, has proven to be very dangerous on the PK. I wonder if that's something the Flames can exploit.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 9:00 eastern and can be seen on SNW and CSN-CA.