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Struggling Blackhawks Roll into Calgary — Game Day |
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The 23-16-9 Calgary Flames have a bit of an odd one tonight in terms of opposition.
From January 6-21, the Chicago Blackhawks went on a 6-1-0 stretch that saw the team evaporate a four-point cushion for 32nd place in the standings. The team managed to climb up to 30th in the standings.
On Sunday, January 22, the LA Kings managed to stifle them for over two and a half periods, leading 2-0 before the Blackhawks began a rally that fell just short of tying the game up. It was a loss, but the club finished the game with momentum on their side.
Then there was Chicago’s most recent game on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks.
Vancouver brought a physical game. Sheldon Dries ran Chicago goalie Petr Mrazek. Connor Murphy stuck up for him. Patrick Kane received a big hit from Dakota Joshua. Max Domi stepped in and took an instigator penalty and misconduct while more or less losing the fight.
The lack of discipline was an issue. Another issue was that their best players were overwhelmed.
The top pairing of Seth Jones and Jake McCabe had a tough night. At least one of two the blew coverage on all three of the 5v5 goals they were out for. The entire team got outshot by a vast margin.
Just to underline that, McKenzie Entwistle finished the game with the team’s highest 5v5 SF%. That’s merely how many shots for and against the team got while the player was on the ice with a fancy percentage bow tied around it. MacKenzie was on for one shot for and three against at even strength. 25% was the best marker for Chicago on Saturday.
Patrick Kane? 3-15 or 16.67%
Seth Jones? 2-16. Their highest-paid defenseman played 15 minutes of even strength and only saw two shots on the opposing net.
This is all to say that we might be seeing Chicago coming down to Earth before tonight’s game against the Flames.
Not to mention they’re starting a goalie with one career NHL game on his record.
Calgary Flames Projected Lineup
Courtesy of Pat Steinberg. @Fan960Steinberg
Dube-Lindholm-Toffoli
Lucic-Kadri-Huberdeau
Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman
Pelletier-Lewis-Duehr
Hanifin-Andersson
Zadorov-Weegar
Mackey-Stone
Markstrom
Vladar
A few notes.
Easing In
Jacob Markstrom gets the start. The big Swede has been struggling of late. 0-2-2 since January 8, which featured a 4-3 overtime loss to — the Blackhawks. In each of the four games Markstrom started, the opposition scored the first goal.
Tonight may be a way of easing Markstrom back into the saddle, although it’s worth noting that the Blackhawks scored first against the Canucks on Tuesday.
Speaking of.
High Slot
Both Chicago goals against Vancouver were tricky shots from the high slot. The Flames will need to be tight on the points from the get-go to shut down that play.
Bread Rising
A goal and two assists against the Blue Jackets were encouraging to see from Andrew Mangiapane. He had the burners on all night on Monday. The 5’10” speedy left winger could have had three or four goals with the opportunities his feet were giving him.
Young Talent
You can’t blame Chicago’s loss on Tuesday on goaltending. Most of the goals scored on Petr Mrazek were defensive breakdowns out front. At one point, Max Domi hit a player from behind onto Mrazek’s back as the Canucks cashed in a rebound. The Czechen goalie finished the night with a .915 save percentage. Their other regular in net, Alex Stalock, is day-to-day with injury.
Tonight is the second career start for 23-year-old Jaxson Stauber. He got a win against the St. Louis Blues last Saturday posting a .906 save percentage and three goals on 32 shots.
Game time is 7:00 pm MST. Catch the broadcast on Sportsnet West and TVAS in Canada. NBCSCH+ in the United States.
Trevor Neufeld
@Trevor_Neufeld
Stats via naturalstattrick.com and nhl.com.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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