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First off, I would just like to advise my readers that I will be taking a week break from writing as my wife and I are taking a vacation.
While it was my initial goal to write a few blogs during said time off, I realized they would be rushed and not fair to you readers. As such, Shaune Vetter has agreed to step in during my absence and write for you guys! Thanks for stepping up Vetter!
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The Calgary Flames are in for a challenge tonight as they face the Tampa Bay Lighting at home. The Flames who have lost four straight home games will be faced with a Lightning team who has now won four straight road games – their most successful road trip in years.
Although they have not too much success at home themselves, Tampa Bay has been playing since impressive hockey as they slowly move up the standings, currently holding a 7-2-1 record over their last ten games played. The Flames will need to bring their A game tonight against the Lightning if they are going to put an end to their streak.
Despite still being without star Steven Stamkos, the Bolts have managed to successfully find the back of the net as the group has outscored their opponents 16-5 during their most recent road streak. The players to keep an eye out for tonight will be Valtteri Filppula who has registered 12 points in his last eight games, in addition to Martin St Louis who is always someone to watch out for.
For the Flames, they will need a surge in points from several players who have been very cold over the past month or so. With guys like Lee Stempniak who has failed to register in single point over his past 10 games played, in addition to rookie Sean Monahan who has only recently found the back of the net, the Flames have struggled to score which makes it rather difficult to win games.
At the end of the day, the team will need to rely on their veterans to step up and lead the way. Players such as Mike Cammalleri, Lee Stempniak, Mark Giordano, and Jiri Hudler will need to get off to a strong start to open the scoring early for the Flames in order to boost the teams confidence once again – lead by example mom always used to say!
“You can look at individuals or you can look at it as a team, and in here, we look at it as a team,… Stajan said.“We haven’t been scoring goals as a team. You have to muster a few any way you can, and then it will start snowballing. It takes everybody to contribute."
As I mentioned yesterday, it appears that Dennis Wideman will in fact make his return tonight which should hopefully help with the struggling offense. The veteran defenseman was on a .50 scoring pace prior to breaking his hand and with his 60% offensive zone starts, has resulted in a 48 GF percentage.
“Anytime you’re struggling to score goals, it’s always, ‘Just start shooting, everybody get to the front of net, crash the net, get ugly ones and start building off that,’ … Wideman said.
Another player who fans will get a chance to see again will be Kevin Westgarth. Recently acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes, the enforcer will be taking to the ice alongside Joe Colborne and Lance Bouma, while Brian McGrattan is shifted to the third line.
While some may question this decision, the fact of the matter is that the coaching staff have not yet seen enough of Westgarth to put him and McGrattan together on a line. This could ultimately spell disaster in terms of defensive coverage and pose too much of a risk. By splitting them up and easing Westgarth into the line/systems, they will have a chance to see which line combinations work best and go from there.
Aside from that, Sean Monahan will be shifted up to the first line center position as Hartley tries to get some chemistry going with new line combinations. On his wings he will have veteran Mike Cammalleri and David Jones, who has also been struggling with points (no goals in 14 games).
Karri Ramo will be between the pipes tonight and he will play against Ben Bishop on the other end.
** In other news, Chris Breen was placed on, and cleared waivers yesterday as the defenseman was sent back to the AHL Heat. Having only played in five NHL games to date, Breen was no longer needed upon the return of Dennis Wideman.
That’s all for today folks, thanks for reading!