Game Day: Wild at Flames
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Minnesota Wild at Calgary Flames
8 p.m., Scotiabank Saddledome, TV: CBC, Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan
THE BIG MATCHUP
Eric Staal vs. Johnny Gaudreau
It was the slash that was felt by Flames fans all the way in Calgary on that November night last season. Eric Staal’s whack on Johnny Gaudreau broke his finger and kept him out of the lineup for 10 games. It brought up some serious debate in the NHL and caused the league to crack down on the slashing and hacking on players. The teams squared off with each other twice after that game, winning all three meetings. And there wasn’t any on-ice fall-out from the incident. But you can bet that the referees and linesman will be watching closely.
FIVE STORYLINES:
1. JUMP ON IT: The Flames, well-rested and motivated to bounce back, need to come out with a quick start against the visitors who played in Winnipeg on Friday night. Doing so would: A) give them a boost after Thursday’ 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes and B) throw the Wild off-guard after a quick turnaround. Minnesota can be a frustrating team to play against and if the Flames can score a couple goals early, it would make it much easier on the Flames in the end.
2. STAY OUT OF THE BOX: This one is obvious. Heading into Friday’s action, the Flames had taken the fourth-most penalties in the NHL (40). They also had the fourth-best powerplay (humming at an 88.9 per cent clip). But it’s not sustainable. On Thursday, Glen Gulutzan’s frustrations reached last year’s train-ride levels and had him fuming about another six powerplays served to the Hurricanes. They have to clean it up and the hacks and the whacks need to stop.
3. TOP LINE VIBES: The story this week had been about Calgary’s first line with Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and their new band member Jaromir Jagr. The trio practised together all week and also spent some time skating together on Friday during first-unit powerplay drills. Although the coach wasn’t pleased about the line’s performance in the first half of Thursday’s game, signs of chemistry were visible.
4. SMITH SAVING THE DAY: Mike Smith is looking like an early candidate for the Flames MVP. Just ask Glen Gulutzan who has said, multiple times, the only reason why they’re 4-3-0 — and not 2-4-1, like they were through seven games last season — is because of their goaltending. Smith has definitely been their saviour and has been their best penalty killer. In seven appearance, Smith has put together a .930 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average.
5. MORE TURNOVERS THAN A BAKERY: The Flames had 13 giveaways on Thursday to the Hurricanes four and are eighth in the league when it comes to giveaways (heading into Fridays action). It’s not a habit they want to continue, giving up so many turnovers to the opposition. The Flames must be smarter and stronger on the puck. Minnesota is the best team in the league for their offensive zone face-offs (56 per cent). So, too many turnovers when playing a team that is so good in the offensive zone could be problematic.
FLAMES GAMEDAY LINES
Forwards
Johnny Gaudreau-Sean Monahan-Jaromir Jagr
Matthew Tkachuk-Mikael Backlund-Michael Frolik
Kris Versteeg-Sam Bennett-Curtis Lazar
Tanner Glass-Matt Stajan-Troy Brouwer
Defence
Mark Giordano-Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie-Travis Hamonic
Michael Stone-Matt Bartkowski
Goalies
Mike Smith
Eddie Lack
WILD GAMEDAY LINES
Forwards
Mikael Granlund-Mikko Koivu-Jason Zucker
Marcus Foligno-Eric Staal-Chris Stewart
Tyler Ennis -Matt Cullen-Luke Kunin
Zack Mitchell- Joel Eriksson Ek-Daniel Winnik
Defence
Ryan Suter-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Kyle Quincey-Mike Reilly
Goalies
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power play
FLAMES: 19.2% (15th, heading into Friday’s action)
WILD: 28.6% (T-4th, heading into Friday’s action)
Penalty kill
FLAMES: 88.6% (4th, heading into Friday’s action)
WILD: 77.8% (22nd, heading into Friday’s action)
SICK BAY
FLAMES: None
WILD: LW Zach Parise (undisclosed, day-to-day), LW Nino Niederreiter (ankle, IR), RW Charlie Coyle (fibula fracture, IR)
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