Calgary's flickering playoff hopes have a chance to gain new life against the struggling Canadiens
Calgary Flames (32-29-5, 69 points) versus Montreal Canadiens (25-30-11, 61 points)
The Montreal Canadiens are visiting the Saddledome on a Saturday night, with a not often seen 5 p.m. start time. Even though it’s a match between a couple of teams who are essentially also-rans in the playoff chase, the night should have some buzz.
Technically, the Flames are still alive in the quest for a ticket to the Stanley Cup tournament, sitting eight points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild-card position with 16 games remaining. According to moneypuck.com Calgary has a 3.7% chance of reaching the second season. Montreal is considered to have zero chance based on the same formula.
As much are the Flames facing long odds, they do have a lighter schedule the rest of the way. After their five-game gauntlet, in which they won twice, Calgary’s final 16 tilts consists of six games against teams currently in playoff positions, two of those against both the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings, with clashes against the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers the others.
More realistically, the final month of the season is a golden opportunity to assess the young players and newcomers with an eye to the future. After he posted his best ever NHL performance in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Vegas, it would be no surprise if goaltender Dustin Wolf was again tabbed to start between the pipes. It is also likely the Flames will use the same lineup, although Connor Zary is close to returning and it would make sense to insert him, shuffle the lines a bit and take Walker Duehr out.
Montreal is kicking off a five-game road trip that most likely will quash what playoff hopes remain. The Canadiens have only one victory in their last four games and are in a 3-7-3 skid that has them on the verge of falling behind the Ottawa Senators in the standings.
Calgary won the first meeting of the season, a 2-1 game in Montreal in November, which snapped a five-game losing skid against the Canadiens.
Here is Calgary’s expected lineup
Forwards:
Jonathan Huberdeau-Nazem Kadri-Martin Pospisil
Andrew Mangiapane-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Dryden Hunt-Yegor Sharangovich-Matt Coronato
Jakob Pelletier-Kevin Rooney-Walker Duehr
Extra: Connor Zary
Defence:
Oliver Kylington-Rasmus Andersson
MacKenzie Weegar-Daniil Miromanov
Nikita Okhotiuk-Brayden Pachal
Extras: Dennis Gilbert, Joel Hanley
Goal:
Dustin Wolf
Dan Vladar
Neither Wolf or Vladar has ever faced the Canadiens.
Montreal
Forwards:
Cole Caufield-Nick Suzuki-Juraj Slafkovsky
Joshua Roy-Alex Newhook-Joel Armia
Brendan Gallagher-Jake Evans-Josh Anderson
Tanner Pearson-Colin White-Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Defence:
Michael Matheson-Kaiden Guhle
Arber Xhekaj-David Savard
Jordan Harris-Johnathan Kovacevic
Goal:
Samuel Montembeault
Cayden Primeau
Montembeault has a 0-2-0 record with a 2.53 GAA and .912 SvPct. against Calgary. He played in the first meeting this season, and also met Calgary a few year ago while with the Florida Panthers. Primeau’s lone game against Calgary was in a 5-2 Flames win on April 24, 2021.
ICE CHIPS: Montreal RW Juraj Slafkovsky is showing the potential seen when the Canadians drafted him first overall in 2022. He is currently on a three-game point streak with one goal and four points … The Canadiens have been in 21 games that have gone beyond regulation time, with a 10-11 record in them (4-6 in shootouts). By comparison, Calgary has played 10 games with a 5-5 mark overall and 0-4 record in shootouts … The Canadiens have killed 19 consecutive penalties and 26 of 27 short-handed situations … Montreal has a surprising 12-12-3 record against Western Conference foes. The Flames boast a 13-13-3 mark against Eastern Conference clubs.
