The Calgary Flames have been leaky on the defensive side of the puck for much of the year and have bled goals as a result.
That wasn't the case last night, though, as the Flames managed to go into Minnesota and beat the league's best defensive team (in terms of goals against) at their own game by picking up a much needed 1-0 win, recording their first shutout of the season in the process.
If the Flames can build on last night's performance with another win tonight they'll be within two points of a playoff spot despite their disastrous start to the season.
A back-to-back situation works against Calgary but they are hosting the league's last placed team - one that is 2-6-0 on the road - so the matchup is as favorable as possible given the circumstances.
Let's see if they can take advantage of the opportunity at hand.
Here are the expected line combinations for the Flames:
**possible hand injury
Johnny Gaudreau** - Sean Monahan - Troy Brouwer Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Sam Bennett - Matt Stajan - Alex Chiasson Micheal Ferland - Freddie Hamilton - Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton T.J. Brodie - Dennis Wideman Brett Kulak - Deryk Engelland
Brian Elliott
And the expected lines for the Coyotes:
Max Domi - Martin Hanzal - Radim Vrbata Tobias Rieder - Jordan Martinook - Anthony Duclair Jamie McGinn - Brad Richardson - Shane Doan Lawson Crouse - Laurent Dauphin - Ryan White
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Michael Stone Alex Goligoski - Anthony DeAngelo Jakob Chychrun - Connor Murphy
Louis Domingue
A few notes:
1) No team allows more scoring chances per hour of 5 v 5 play than the Coyotes. If there is a team the Flames can get going against at full-strength it's Arizona. They bleed shots, chances and goals.
2) I'll have more on this in the coming days but if the Flames are seriously listening to offers for Dougie Hamilton, which I think is ridiculous, then the least they could do is play him and up his value. His underlying numbers are strong yet he's played 20+ minutes once in his last 12 outings. Teams will remember that if/when the Flames talk Hamilton up and pretend they are happy with his play.
3) Goligoski has struggled settling in with his new team as the Coyotes have allowed more shots and scoring chances per 60 with him on the ice than any other defenseman. The Flames should use last change to try and get their best against him because, for whatever reason, he is really struggling right now.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 10:00 eastern and can be seen on SN, SN1 and FS-Arizona Plus.
Recent posts: On Monahan, Grossmann and Kulak