Tonight the Calgary Flames are in Vancouver looking to conclude their preseason schedule with a win.
The Flames enter tonight's contest with a respectable 3-3-0 record while the Canucks have struggled (shocking, I know) posting a 1-2-2 record to date.
Having played last night the Flames will be going with a much different look in this one. Matthew Tkachuk, who scored the lone goal and the shootout winner last night, will not play nor will Sam Bennett, Troy Brouwer, T.J. Brodie or Mark Giordano, among a few others.
The Flames will have some reinforcements, though, as Sean Monahan is expected to make his preseason debut.
Here is the Flames' expected lineup:
Forwards: Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund, Matt Stajan, Linden Vey, Micheal Ferland, Alex Chiasson, Lance Bouma, Freddie Hamilton, Hunter Shinkaruk, Chris Higgins, Lauri Korpikoski and Brandon Bollig.
Jyrki Jokipakka - Dougie Hamilton Tyler Wotherspoon - Dennis Wideman Nicklas Grossman - Brett Kulak
And the Canucks' lineup:
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Loui Eriksson Anton Rodin - Sutter - Jannik Hansen Sven Baertschi - Markus Granlund - Jake Virtanen Alex Burrows - Bo Horvat - Jack Skille
Alex Edler - Chris Tanev Ben Hutton - Erik Gudbranson Luca Sbisa - Philip Larsen
Ryan Miller Jacob Markstrom
A few notes:
1) It's nice that Monahan is getting a game under his belt tonight as he can knock the rust off and adjust to the pace again before it all starts for real. I wouldn't expect him to play too, too many minutes tonight, though, as the most important thing is getting out of this game healthy.
2) Chris Higgins, Lauri Korpikoski and Nicklas Grossman are all getting one last chance to prove they deserve a contract from the Flames. Personally I don't think any of them should be signed but if I had to guess I'd say the order goes Grossman, Korpikoski and Higgins in terms of likelihood of getting a contract. Glen Gulutzan is familiar with Grossman from their days together in Dallas, and he brings physicality that Flames' management seems to like, so that's why I'm not surprised he's still here.
3) Brian Elliott had a strong preseason and, for the most part, Chad Johnson has as well. There were hiccups against the Winnipeg Jets, though, - some bounces went the other way and he didn't see much rubber - so it'd be nice for him to get back on track and head into the season on a positive note.
Puck drop is just after 10 eastern and can be seen on Sportsnet 360 and NHL Network (U.S.).
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