A lot of Flames news to get to today prior to tonight's faceoff with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Before we get that, who remembers this?
Andersson catches Laine with a hit in the dying seconds of the game. pic.twitter.com/VvpTXylYYU
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 21, 2023
It’s probably fine. Let’s just pretend that Andersson’s hit won’t be a storyline. The less attention we give it; the less likely it is that we’ll need to address it.
Calgary Flames (21-21-5, 47 pts) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (14-23-9, 37 pts)
Last Ten: Calgary (5-5-0) Columbus (3-5-2)
Time: 7:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
TV: Sportsnet One, Sportsnet West, ESPN+
A few notes, thoughts, and observations.
Kylington is Back It’s been 20 months since his last NHL game on May 26th, 2022. Oliver Kylington will return to the lineup following a harrowing battle to attend to his mental health. There isn’t much to do but smile about it.
Oliver can hopefully plant himself down in his old stall next to Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk and enjoy the sport like old times.
For fun, here is what the Flames lineup looked like when Oliver last played a game for the Calgary Flames:
Last Time Oliver Played - Lineup Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman Dube-Jarnkrok-Toffoli Lucic-Lewis-Ritchie
Hanifin-Andersson Kylington-Tanev Zadorov-Gudbranson Mackey-Stone
Markstrom Vladar
Farewell Sweet Ruzicka Speaking of times changing, Adam Ruzicka is off to Arizona after being claimed off waivers this morning. Three goals and six assists over 39 appearances isn’t enough to hold down a permanent roster spot.
The tough pill to swallow there is that Adam recorded four points in his first seven games. Ruzicka appeared to be ready for a breakout season before a questionable hit thrown by New York Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey on Oct. 24 served as a turning point for the 6-foot-4, 215-pound center.
Adam Ruzicka got banged up on this hit from Jimmy Vesey. pic.twitter.com/gcI5drIqXP
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) October 25, 2023
Ruzicka took only four games off before returning on Nov. 9. Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil had stormed into the lineup and seized spots in the top six in the two games prior to the 24-year-old's return. His production slowed to a mere goal and four assists in the following 32 games. It’s not unreasonable to infer that Adam rushed back into action a little too early.
Points Per Game: Adam Ruzicka in 2023-2024
Oct. 11 to Oct. 24: 0.57 Nov. 7 to Jan. 24: 0.15
Jersey Nick Defenceman Nick DeSimone was also plucked off waivers today. This time it was the New Jersey Devils adding a player to their lineup. Lindy Ruff’s crew lost Dougie Hamilton to a season-ending injury earlier in the season, and fellow defenceman Cal Foote took a leave of absence earlier in the week.
DeSimone recorded eight goals and 46 points in 65 games for the Wranglers in 2022-2023. The 6-foot-2 defender recorded a goal and four assists in 23 games with the Flames this season.
Tough Days in Columbus The Blue Jackets come into tonight’s game, having lost five of their last six. In other words, bet the farm on Columbus. The Flames have the hardest time winning what should be easy games.
Calgary Flames Projected Lineup Courtesy of Pat Steinberg. @Fan960Steinberg Huberdeau-Lindholm-Sharangovich Zary-Kadri-Coronato Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman Greer-Schwindt-Klapka
Weegar-Andersson Hanifin-Tanev Kylington-Oesterle
Markstrom Vladar Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lineup Gaudreau-Sillinger-Chinakhov Fantilli-Jenner-Roslovic Johnson-Voronkov-Marchenko Texier-Kuraly-Danforth
Severson-Boqvist Provorov-Peeke Bean-Gudbranson
Merzlikins Tarasov
Puck drops at 7:12 p.m. MST.
Trevor Neufeld
@Trevor_Neufeld
Editor's note: A quick spot on Tij Iginla. I took in his Jan. 19 third period hat trick against Sam Honzek and the Vancouver Giants earlier today. Tij has a very unique attacking style of game.
Tij Iginla: confirmed hockey Swiss Army Knife#CHLKTP | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/3qjdDOeHJf
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 25, 2024