Following a 4-1 loss in Anaheim the Calgary Flames have had a few days off to sit on their disastrous four-game road trip in which they were out scored 16-4.
Over the last few days those losses, along with the dissection of the team that has come with it, have no doubt left a bad taste in the mouth of the Flames coaching staff and players.
One would think they'll come out with a much better effort tonight as they host a bruised and battered Dallas Stars team. The Flames haven't played very well on home soil this season owning just a 2-4-0 record thus far. The Stars have been even worse on the road winning just once in seven tries.
Also working in Calgary's favor: the Stars are having serious injury problems. Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp, Mattias Janmark, Ales Hemsky and Cody Eakin are all banged up, or out long-term, and there's a good chance none of them will dress tonight.
Those are five(!) of the team's top-9 forwards so, as you'd expect, the Stars no longer have much depth up front.
This is definitely a winnable game and one the Flames can't afford to drop.
Here are the Flames' expected line combinations for tonight:
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Alex Chiasson Hunter Shinkaruk - Sam Bennett - Troy Brouwer Micheal Ferland - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Linden Vey - Matt Stajan - Freddie Hamilton
Mark Giordano - T.J. Brodie Jyrki Jokipakka - Dougie Hamilton Brett Kulak - Deryk Engelland
Brian Elliott
And the expected lines for the Stars:
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Patrick Eaves Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Brett Ritchie Curtis McKenzie - Gemel Smith - Adam Cracknell Lauri Korpikoski - Devin Shore - Patrick Nemeth
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg Johnny Oduya - Stephen Johns Dan Hamhuis - Jordie Benn
Kari Lehtonen
A few notes:
1) It's imperative that the Flames limit the damage Dallas' top line causes tonight. That is easier said than done but the Stars have next to nothing offensively after the top unit. If they don't account for a couple goals the Stars have a very minute chance of winning.
2) Another key: staying disciplined. This Stars lineup shouldn't create a lot at 5 v 5 so the Flames need to make sure they don't spoon feed them favorable opportunities on the power play. Keep this game at full strength and take your chances against a one line team.
3) Both the Stars and Flames are top-15 in generating shot attempts and bottom-15 at suppressing them at full-strength. This should be a fun, high-event game with a lot of pace.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 9:00 eastern and can be seen on SN-Flames and FS-SW.
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