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Five things to watch when the Calgary Flames take on the Carolina Hurricanes:
1. A revamped 2nd line
In an effort to help James Neal become more of a threat on a nightly basis, and create more balanced scoring in the process, he has moved onto the 2nd line while Matthew Tkachuk has dropped.
Though I understand the logic behind it, Bill Peters and co. are breaking up a duo (Mikael Backlund+Tkachuk) that has held opponents to 49 attempts and 24 chances per 60 in a game they draw Sebastian Aho, who sits 15th in the NHL in 5v5 chances – ahead of notables like Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. I'm not sure this is the optimal time to weaken your matchup line.
2. Offense from the defense
If you enjoy mobile, modern-day defenders who like to jump into the play and shoot the puck, this is the game for you. It's filled with them.
Dougie Hamilton (3rd), Calvin de Haan (11th), Mark Giordano (12th), Justin Faulk (16th) and Travis Hamonic (19th) all rank inside the top-20 in terms of shot attempts/60. They're always activating and shooting so forwards will need to be on high alert in the defensive zone at all times.
3. A big game from David Rittich
Though the Hurricanes are currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, it's not because they can't create enough quality looks to score. Quite the opposite. They rank 1st in shot attempts/60, chances/60 and, yes, high-danger chances/60 at 5v5. They generate quantity and quality. The Flames are solid defensively, of course, but a desperate Hurricanes team will surely still get their share of chances tonight. Rittich will need to be on his game.
4. Returning players
This is the first time these two sides will meet since they pulled off a blockbuster trade that saw five quality assists (four established players and highly touted prospect Adam Fox) swap hands.
Both teams have plenty to play for and should have no problem getting up for this game. With that said, you can bet the four players involved in the trade will have a little extra motivation, and adrenaline, to put their best foot forward.
5. Penalty kill prowess
The Hurricanes rank 1st in attempts and chances against/60 while down a man. The Flames aren't far behind sitting 5th in attempts and 11th in chances against/60. While each side does have talent, I wouldn't expect this game to turn into a power play-aided shootout.
Here are the projected lineups:
Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Elias Lindholm
Michael Frolik - Mikael Backlund - James Neal
Matthew Tkachuk - Mark Jankowski -Sam Bennett
Andrew Mangiapane - Derek Ryan - Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano - T.J. Brodie
Noah Hanifin - Travis Hamonic
Oliver Kylington - Rasmus Andersson
David Rittich
Carolina
Nino Niederreiter - Sebastian Aho - Justin Williams
Brock McGinn - Lucas Wallmark - Andrei Svechnikov
Micheal Ferland** - Greg McKegg - Teuvo Teravainen
Warren Foegele - Saku Maenalanen - Jordan Martinook
**questionable
Jaccob Slavin - Dougie Hamilton
Justin Faulk - Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Petr Mrazek
Puck drop is just after 9:00 eastern and can be seen on SNW and FS-SE.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com and Corsica.Hockey
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