After a few days of rest and practice, the 28-13-6 Calgary Flames welcome Mark Giordano and the 16-30-4 Seattle Kraken back to the Saddledome in what, on paper, looks like a classic David and Goliath style matchup.
With a record of 9-1-0 in their last ten, eight straight wins, outscoring opposition 38-13 over those eight games; the Flames are a proverbial juggernaut in the Pacific Division. Led by the best two way line in the league in Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk, they enter tonight as -300 favourites while the newly formed Seattle Kraken franchise will attempt to work their way out of losing three straight.
With a goals for per game ranking 26th in the League at 2.62, the Kraken will be tough-set to get pucks past Calgary’s #1 rated defence— 2.38GA/GP. Their leading scorer over the last five games is current third line center Yanni Gourde with five points.
What you should assume from all of this is that the Flames will either completely roll over the Kraken, or tonight’s game will be a mutual streak ending experience for both teams. Given that professional hockey sometimes throws expectations out the window, a 4-2 Seattle victory on the back of a Calle Jarnkrok hat trick is fully within the realm of possibility.
Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman Dube-Monahan-Toffoli Lucic-Ruzicka-Lewis
Hanifin-Andersson Kylington-Tanev Zadorov-Gudbranson
Markstrom
Return of the Captain Preseason games aside, tonight will feature Mark Giordano’s return to the Saddledome. With the crowd starting to awaken of late, let’s hope tonight’s 10,000 lets him know exactly what he means to this franchise. Second most games played in Flames history, an immeasurable contribution to the community— this is a top tier human being deserving of a jersey retirement when he hangs them up.
While fans remain contentious about the idea of him re-joining the Flames, it’s not unfair to say that Gio has a place in all of our hearts. He will always be welcome in Calgary.
If you’re looking for a fun way to cheer for Gio tonight, consider betting on him to score a goal. +750 odds gets you around $150 for a 20 dollar bet. He has a goal in each of his last two games against Calgary. One in preseason and one on December 30th.
That said, remember the Flames are playing much better hockey compared to how they played in their last two meetings with the Kraken.
Lindhot Elias Lindholm is another good bet to be a factor in tonight’s game. Coming off a game where he scored two and potted another assist, Lindholm is heating up. He could have had five goals against the Ducks.
His pass to himself to set up his second goal of the night was reminiscent of the style the Magic Man Kent Nilsson used to play in the Corral as well as the early days of the Saddledome.
Broadcast starts at 8pm MST.
Trevor Neufeld