Following consecutive losses, the Calgary Flames will be looking to rebound tonight when they take on the Nashville Predators.
They will do so without one of their key forwards, Jaromir Jagr, but, luckily, the Flames are again running into a team with some injury problems of their own.
The Predators will be without the services of their No. 2 center in Nick Bonino and one of the Big Four on defense in Ryan Ellis.
They'll still be a tough out, though, as they've managed to out-attempt, out-shoot and out-chance their opponents at 5v5 through eight games, five of which were on the road.
This will be a good test for a Flames team that is still trying to find their footing and figure out the best way to optimize their lineup.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Michael Ferland Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Sam Bennett - Mark Jankowski - Curtis Lazar Kris Versteeg - Matt Stajan - Troy Brouwer
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Travis Hamonic Matt Bartkowski - Michael Stone
Mike Smith
Nashville (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Filip Forsberg - Ryan Johansen - Viktor Arvidsson Scott Hartnell - Calle Jarnkrok - Mikka Salomaki Kevin Fiala - Colton Sissons - Craig Smith Cody McLeod - Frederick Gaudreau - Austin Watson
Roman Josi - Mattias Ekholm Alexei Emelin - P.K. Subban Matt Irwin - Yannick Weber
Pekka Rinne
Five things to watch:
1) The Forsberg - Johansen - Arvidsson unit has been absolutely dominant thus far. Among 33 lines with 50+ minutes together, they are 2nd to only Connor McDavid's in shot generation and they're above 60% in terms of possession. The Flames will have their hands full.
2) Jankowski has been arguably Stockton's best player in the early going as he leads the team in goals, points, and shots. If he can bring some of that offense to the big club, he has a good chance of sticking around -- especially given Bennett's struggles at center.
3) Even without Ellis, the Predators have a loaded defense core with capable puck-movers and guys who like to jump into the rush to add an extra layer of offense. The forwards will have to make sure they're always hustling back or they could get beat up the ice and concede some good looks as a result.
4) Though the Flames have serious discipline issues, the Predators' may be worse as they've managed to take 51 penalties already -- seven more than the Flames. This game could turn into a special teams battle.
5) The Flames have tightened up a bit over the last couple games but they still rank 28th in shot suppression at 5v5. Mike Smith will likely see his fair share of pucks again tonight so he'll need to be on his game.
Puck drop is just after 8:00ET/6:00MT and can be seen on SNF and FS-TN.
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