Home
|
Calgary Flames Blogger • Heading into the All-Star break the Calgary Flames held a playoff spot. Coming out of it, after an extra day off, the final Wild Card spot is no longer theirs.
The Flames will be looking to regain their place, and start the (unofficial) 2nd half of the season on a positive note, tonight when they host the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild lead the league in points percentage, goal differential, have won eight of their last 10 and are 16-5-5 on the road this year so they will be as stiff of a test as the Flames could face.
The Wild played yesterday, whereas the Flames were resting, but they just had a long break so playing in consecutive nights shouldn't drag them down too much, especially considering they will have a rested Devan Dubnyk between the pipes tonight.
What this game will come down to, I think, is goaltending. I expect a good effort from a fresh and desperate Flames team playing on their home turf. In saying that, it won't matter if the goaltending is as bad as it's been since the middle of December. They need a quality start tonight.
Here are the expected line combinations for the Flames:
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Troy Brouwer
Kris Versteeg - Sam Bennett - Alex Chiasson
Lance Bouma - Matt Stajan -Micheal Ferland
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton
T.J. Brodie - Dennis Wideman
Brett Kulak - Deryk Engelland
Brian Elliott/Chad Johnson
And the expected lines for the Wild (via dailyfaceoff.com):
Nino Niederreiter - Eric Staal - Charlie Coyle
Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Zach Parise - Erik Haula - Jason Pominville
Chris Stewart - Tyler Graovac - Jordan Schroeder
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Marco Scandella - Matthew Dumba
Nate Prosser - Mike Rielly
Devan Dubnyk
A few notes:
1) The Niederreiter - Staal - Coyle line has been marvelous together this season. In almost 250 5v5 minutes, they are controlled ~56% of the shot attempts, have a plus-9 goal differential and all three are on pace for well over 20 goals.
2) Monahan has six goals in his last eight games and at least three shots in eight of his last nine. The Flames need him to come up big down the stretch if they're going to get into the playoffs. He was too inconsistent in the first 50 games.
3) I've picked on Brouwer a lot of late, but with good reason. He is pointless in his last 10 games and has just four shots in that span despite seeing top-6 minutes and power play time. That doesn't sound like a $4.5 million player to me.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 10:00 eastern and can be seen on SN360, SNW, SNP and FS-W.
» A reading of the financial and monetary policies of the International Monetary Fund report - May 202
» utube 5/16/24 MM&C Al-Sudani - Political Week - Progress Internationally
» Floating the Iraqi dinar A solution to fill the "gap" of its turbulent price against the dollar
» utube MM&C 5/14/24 Iraq Dinar - IQD Update - UN Chapter VII - $3 Billion Revenue - Trade Minister -
» Iraq announces the payment of the last installment of the International Monetary Fund loan
» The International Monetary Fund calls on Iraq to cancel the appointments and correct the course of n
» For the first time after Iraq joined the Bank’s membership: The Minister of Finance participates in
» A delegation from the Retirement Authority discusses with the World Bank reform of the retirement sy
» Istanbul.. Iraq is discussing with the World Bank reform of the country’s retirement system
» The President of the Republic stresses the importance of coordination between Iraq and Kuwait on reg
» Among them are Russia and China... Members of the Security Council support ending the mission of the
» The full statement of Iraq’s welcome of the Arab League’s decision to hold the Baghdad Summit in 202
» Parliamentary expectations of electing a new Speaker of Parliament and extending the work of the Ele
» Transparency website: Sulaymaniyah and Halabja imports amounted to about 11 billion dinars last week
» The Hajj Authority begins disbursing dollars to pilgrims via the electronic platform
» Oil announces the expansion of installing gas networks and proceeding with the import of plastic gas
» Politician: Al-Mashhadani is closest to the presidency of the House of Representatives
» Al-Ittihad: The delay in the localization of salaries has had a negative impact on the citizens of K
» A new maneuver for the region regarding the salaries of its employees...these are its details
» The Parliamentary Energy Committee determines its position on the new oil coupons
» Washington: We are communicating with officials in Baghdad, Ankara, and Erbil to resume Kurdistan oi
» In agreement with international companies, the first tourist flight was launched from Kirkuk Airport
» Al-Allaq announces the success of the electronic transfer platform in combating money laundering
» The Chinese dragon applies to Iraqi oil... Where is Iran in this equation?
» Sudanese advisor announces full repayment of IMF loans
» Al-Sudani reiterates: Iraq is heading towards expanding petrochemical projects
» The Monetary Fund: “Internal stability has improved since the new government took office in October
» Washington clarifies its position on stopping Kurdistan oil exports through Türkiye
» The Minister of Labor directs to increase electronic payment (POS) devices
» After the worsening crisis of “carrying vehicles” at the entrances to the governorates, the Minister
» The Hajj Authority begins disbursing dollars to pilgrims via the electronic platform
» Iraq reaches its “peak”... Parliamentary legal opinion opens the file of job laxity and confirms: it
» The framework is awkward between Al-Mashhadani and Al-Issawi... and he sees his salvation in the “th
» Al-Sudani directs the formation of a technical team to follow up on the procedures for implementing
» Kurdistan outlets confirm their commitment to Baghdad’s controls, but: 70% of the outlets are “outsi
» In numbers... budget tables paralyze investment allocations to governorates
» The Minister of Transport reveals the completion rates of rail and land connectivity plans for the d
» He confirmed that the memorandums of understanding signed with Washington are being implemented on t
» The Minister of Planning and the World Bank discuss supporting Iraq's policies to reduce dependence
» Bahaa Al-Araji: They killed Umm Fahd with foreign will, and Al-Mashhadani’s nomination targets Al-Su
» American official: When I see the oil industry in Kurdistan, I think of Oklahoma
» Mishaan Al-Jubouri’s leaks to the session: Al-Maliki needs Al-Mashhadani to restrain Al-Sudani and h
» Safia Al-Suhail supervises the integrity judge’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with the S
» Deputy: The budget is political, not technical, and we do not rule out obstructing it to resolve the
» New American positions towards resuming the export of Kurdistan oil... and foreign companies set a c
» With the ongoing controversy... Is Iraq responsible for smuggling weapons into Jordan?
» Not only to elect the president.. Why is tomorrow’s parliament session exceptional?
» Large spread of foreigners in optical markets
» Labor takes measures to address the foreign worker file
» Communications is looking with Amazon to create a data center to provide Internet content to Iraq
» Al-Sudani reiterates Iraq's move towards expanding petrochemical projects
» Plasschaert: We are witnessing a rising Iraq in the fields of service provision and reconstruction
» A Kurdish MP accuses these parties of controlling the region's oil
» Barzani: Stopping the region’s oil exports has caused Iraq’s treasury billions of dollars in losses
» Mishaan Al-Jubouri: Saturday’s session will fail if Al-Issawi wins
» Al-Haidari: The Parliamentary Order Committee began investigating the director of Iraqi ports
» Al-Jubouri: Al-Halbousi pleaded with Al-Maliki and offered loyalty to pass his candidate
» Honest: The MPs’ conviction will decide the choice of the new Speaker of Parliament
» Al-Sudani welcomes the Arab Summit in Baghdad: We are keen that it constitutes a positive transition
» The framework calls on the representatives to attend the massive session on Saturday to decide the e
» Iraq repays IMF loans in full
» Al-Rafidain grants a new batch of Riyada Initiative loans
» (We will not withdraw from Iraq)... An American message reaches the coordination framework
» Fix Social Security With Ownership, Not More Government
» Al-Sudani issues directives to develop TBI Bank, including increasing branches, simplifying services
» Al-Sudani issues directives to develop TBI Bank, including increasing branches, simplifying services
» Al-Sudani: We are in the year 2024, and this service reality cannot be accepted in Baghdad
» A deputy accuses Kurdish parties of trying to steal the salaries of the region's employees
» A parliamentary committee calls for accelerating the inclusion of the Intellectual Property Protecti
» Iraq sells nearly 300 million dollars at a currency auction
» The Central Markets Company participates in the Babylon Comprehensive Shopping Exhibition
» The launch of the activities of the Iraq International Real Estate and Investment Exhibition in its
» Al-Sudani receives Iraq's permanent representative to UNESCO
» The Minister of Planning discusses with the Chargé d'Affairs of the Japanese Embassy the mechanisms
» Sudanese Advisor: The reform process will begin with the government banking sector, which represents
» Everything you need to know about the "Bahrain Summit"
» With the participation of Iraq...the start of the 33rd session of the Arab Summit in Bahrain
» Why does Al-Halbousi support a figure from outside Anbar? ..a politician answers
» Coin auction today, Thursday / schedule
» A deputy identifies 4 positives of the “Al-Faw Refinery” project
» Al-Halbousi and the Anbar leadership complex
» A deputy reveals the content of an important circular about state real estate
» “Most of them are not developed.” What is the secret of Chinese companies’ monopolization of oil con
» Al-Allaq announces the success of the electronic transfer platform in combating money laundering
» The Iraqi judiciary accepts the appeal to suspend Kurdistan election procedures.. Document
» The Prime Minister receives the Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Afric
» The Minister of Electricity and the US Assistant Secretary of State discuss accelerating the impleme
» Implementing the electronic automation system (ASYCUDA) in the central and southern port of Umm Qasr
» Resources: Water storage is much better than 2023
» Iraq intends to launch a new mechanism for paying tickets for mass transit lines
» Including gas investment in 5 oil fields...Total's contracts in Iraq are detailed to Al-Iqtisad News
» Iraq conveys a “negative” image of corruption.. How does it affect the budget deficit?
» Al-Sudani: There is no stalled project in the current government’s dictionary
» We welcome the transformation of the Fifth Division into cultural and entertainment places
» 300 mobile stations for issuing the unified card
» The Minister of Planning chairs a meeting to review the budget schedules
» The return of the displaced is a thorny issue that requires concerted efforts
» 2026.. The first ship docks in the large port of Al-Faw