The Calgary Flames continue life without Johnny Gaudreau tonight in Detroit as they take on a struggling Red Wings team.
The Red Wings jumped out of the gate by winning six of their first eight games but they have since come back down to earth winning just two of their last 10.
What we're seeing now from Detroit is probably a better indicator of the team they are than what we saw to start the season.
At full strength the Wings are controlling 45.75% of the shot attempts. That is good for 29th in the league and sandwiches them between the Arizona Coyotes and New York Islanders, teams that have combined to win just 11 of 34 games thus far.
The Flames aren't anything special, especially with Gaudreau out of the lineup, but they are just four points out of a playoff spot despite their horrendous start.
If they can find a way to steal some games and pick up points during winnable games, like this one, they'll still be in the hunt when Gaudreau returns. That's all anyone can ask for.
Here are the expected line combinations for the Flames:
Sam Bennett - Sean Monahan - Troy Brouwer Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik Hunter Shinkaruk - 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/Chad Johnson
And the expected lines for the Red Wings:
Justin Abdelkader - Henrik Zetterberg - Gustav Nyquist Dylan Larkin - Frans Nielsen - Anthony Mantha Tomas Tatar - Riley Sheahan - Thomas Vanek Steve Ott - Luke Glendening - Drew Miller
Danny DeKeyser - Mike Green Jonathan Ericsson - Alexey Marchenko Niklas Kronwall - Ryan Sproul
Jimmy Howard
A few notes:
1) The Ott - Glendening - Miller line is one of the NHL's worst. They bring nothing to the table offensively, routinely get hemmed in their own zone and are forced to chase play almost every time they touch the ice. The Flames' bottom-6 has surprisingly been playing pretty well of late and they should be able to take advantage of that matchup.
2) No team generates fewer shots per 60 minutes than Detroit and they're one of the worst teams in suppressing shots at 5 v 5. If the Flames stay out of the box and keep things at full-strength they'll have a good shot at getting a much needed two points.
3) Monahan has struggled immensely to produce offense this season but he showed signs of life last time out by recording a goal, an assist and a couple shots. Is he finally ready to break out and produce on a consistent basis?
Tonight's game is scheduled for 7:30 eastern and can be seen on SN, TVA-Sports, NHL Network (US) and FS-Detroit.
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