Having traded away another pending free agent in Chris Tanev, the Flames will shuffle the decks further while bracing for another move or two
Calgary Flames (28-25-5, 61 points) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (27-22-8, 62 points)
A four-game winning streak and 7-3-0 run since the all-star break has put the Calgary Flames further back of a playoff spot than they were one month ago and now in a seven-point deficit. Throw in the looming March 8 trade deadline and your guess is as good as any how the Flames will react against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on a night Miikka Kiprusoff’s No. 34 is raised to the rafters.
"We were in a stretch ... we were rolling a bit and then you have three days off and can get out of that rhythm," coach Ryan Huska said.
With trade rumours abounding about the future of defenceman Noah Hanifin and goaltender Jacob Markstrom, the Flames are trying to stay in the playoff race.
Having traded away Chris Tanev earlier this week, the Flames will insert defenceman Dennis Gilbert into the lineup and shuffle the other blue liners, with fellow Swedes Oliver Kylington and Rasmus Andersson to pair up.
The Penguins had a three-game winning streak snapped on Thursday in a 2-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken. Pittsburgh, which is in need of a rebuild of its own, is eight points outside a playoff spot, but has played a league-low 57 games.
Speaking of the Kiprusoff ceremony, for those coming to the Saddledome, the doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and the festivities are to commence at 6:20 p.m., and slated to last 50 minutes.
Here is Calgary’s expected lineup
Forwards:
Connor Zary-Nazem Kadri-Martin Pospisil
Andrew Mangiapane-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Jonathan Huberdeau-Yegor Sharangovich-Andrei Kuzmenko
Jakob Pelletier-Kevin Rooney-Dryden Hunt
Extra: Walker Duehr
Defence:
Oliver Kylington-Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin-MacKenzie Weegar
Dennis Gilbert-Brayden Pachal
Extra: Jordan Oesterle
Goal:
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
Markstrom has an 6-4-0 career record against the Penguins with a 2.19 goals-against average and .934 save percentage. Vladar has a 1-1-1 mark against Pittsburgh with a 1.64 GAA and .948 SvPct.
Pittsburgh
Forwards:
Reilly Smith-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Drew O’Connor-Evgeni Malkin-Valtteri Puustinen
Emil Bemstrom-Lars Eller-Jesse Puljujarvi
Matthew Phillips-Noel Acciari-Jeff Carter
Defence:
Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson
Pierre-Olivier Joseph-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Chad Ruhwedel
Goal:
Tristan Jarry
Alex Nedeljkovic
Jarry boasts a 4-0-2 record with a 1.59 GAA and .952 SvPct. against Calgary. Nedeljkovic sports a 1-1-0 mark with a 2.01 GAA and .938 SvPct.
ICE CHIPS: In 20 career games against the Flames, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has collected 13 goals and 25 points. The quirk in his season is Crosby has scored more goals (32) than netted assists (30) … The Penguins won the first meeting of the season, a 5-2 affair in Pittsburgh on Oct. 14 ... This is a clash featuring Calgary's 30th-ranked power-play at 14.3% (32nd ranked at home at 10.5%) and Pittsburgh's 29th-ranked power play at 14.6% ... Flames RW Andrei Kuzmenko is expected back in the lineup after missing two games due to illness. His next point will be the 100th of his career.
