The Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins will take to the ice for the second and final time of the 2014-2015 tonight at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, as the Flames would like to even the season series out with a win tonight.
The Penguins won the last meeting on December 12th at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh by a score of 3-1, with defenceman Kris Letang scoring the game winning goal. Flames rookie Johnny Gaudreau was the lone Calgary goal scorer.
Calgary (29-20-3) enters tonight's game on a four game winning streak, where they have won some big matches against San Jose, Winnipeg and Edmonton over the past week or so and find themselves sitting sixth in the Western Conference with 61 points. However, the Jets currently hold the final Wild Card spot with 61 points and with a Flames loss and a Jets win, Calgary will slide down into the first Wild Card position.
There is a tight race between Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary and San Jose for a playoff position in the West and you can't afford to lose when a team like the Canucks have two games in hand.
Like noted above, the are on a hot streak and they won their last game against the Sharks in Calgary by a score of 3-1 with goaltender Jonas Hiller making 28 saves on 29 shots faced. The Flames are 8-2-0 in their last ten games and 4-1-0 since the NHL's All Star break and have no signs of slowing down as they are quickly climbing up the standings in the West.
Yesterday the Flames reassigned forwards Sven Baertschi and Markus Granlund to the Adirondack Flames of the American Hockey League. Fans are becoming increasingly impatient with management and the way that they are seemingly toying with some of the prospects. Baertschi who was recalled on January 26th with rookie David Wolf and Tyler Wotherspoon just after the All Star break didn't exactly have a ton of time to prove himself and while he played well, he dressed for one game, and was sent right back down.
While I like the idea to send him down to play big minutes, I'd like to see him get some more time. It can be difficult at times with a team like the Flames because of how they have been playing and when you take into account what most hoped for this year; developing players and their systems. Well, at the end of the day this team wants to compete (while) developing their players and unfortunately for Sven, he has yet to outplay anyone on the wing and there's no sense of him sitting in the presser or playing limited minutes. In grand scheme of things, it's the right call.
Looking at Pittsburgh, the Penguins 4-4-2 in their last ten games played and Sidney Crosby leads the Penguins offensively with 53 points in 47 games played this season. Evgeni Malkin is right behind the captain with 52 points. It's no secret that Crosby has been struggling to find the scoresheet.
David Perron has been a solid addition to the Penguins top-line, where he has seven goals in 13 games since the trade from Edmonton at the beginning of Jan. Also worth noting that Marc-Andre Fleury has been real solid against Calgary with a record of 6-1-0 alltime. I would expect to see him between the pipes tonight.
The Flames have a huge opportunity to jump up the standings with a win tonight, as the Jets who are right behind the Flames in the West, are taking on a Blackhawks tonight and Winnipeg is currently on a five-game losing streak and are really struggling as of late.
The Flames will need top-notch goaltending from Hiller and strong offense and defense to shut down the Penguins top-line of Kunitz-Crosby-Perron as Crosby is itching for a goal, and Perron is on fire.
Thanks for reading!
**If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Calgary / Alberta area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.**
Follow Colin on Twitter! Follow @ColinDJD