Flames have won six of seven games but face a red-hot Panthers squad
Calgary Flames (31-26-5, 67 points) at Florida Panthers (43-17-4, 90 points)
Page turned. The Calgary Flames now know who they are and have ripped off the band-aid with those pending unrestricted free agents. You bet, the cuts are deep with Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev and Elias Lindholm all gone, but the Flames who remain remain in the playoff mix — albeit in a long-shot position.
So far, we have seen a group that refuses to go down without a fight, and kicked off this difficult three-game trip with an impressive 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Based on Friday’s practice in Florida, Daniil Miromanov — who was acquired in the deal that sent Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights — will make his Flames debut wearing No. 62 for the afternoon clash (2 p.m. Calgary time). Otherwise, the Flames are likely to ice the same lineup that beat the Lightning.
The Panthers are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, which snapped a six-game winning streak. They are on a 16-3-0 run.
Vladimir Tarasenko, acquired from the Ottawa Senators, was held without a point, but did register a couple of shots in net in 15:09 of action during his Panthers debut. Florida also picked up forward Kyle Okposo in a trade with Buffalo and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot via waivers, but they are not likely to play this game.
Calgary won the lone meeting this season, a 3-1 game at the Saddledome. In fact, the Flames have won the last four meetings and six of seven clashes
Here is Calgary’s expected lineup
Forwards:
Jakob Pelletier-Nazem Kadri-Andrei Kuzmenko
Andrew Mangiapane-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Jonathan Huberdeau-Yegor Sharangovich-Matt Coronato
Dryden Hunt-Kevin Rooney-Walker Duehr
Extra: None
Defence:
Rasmus Andersson-MacKenzie Weegar
Oliver Kylington-Daniil Miromanov
Brayden Pachal-Joel Hanley
Extras: Dennis Gilbert, Niko Mikkola
Goal:
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
Markstrom has a 5-4-1 career record against his former team with a 2.85 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. Vladar has a 1-0-1 mark against Florida with a 2.00 GAA and .939 SvPct.
Florida
Forwards:
Vladimir Tarasenko-Aleksander Barkov-Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe-Sam Bennett-Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Evan Rodrigues
Nick Cousins-Kevin Stenlund-Ryan Lomberg
Defence:
Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola-Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Dmytry Kulikov
Goal:
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
Bobrovsky has an 8-5-3 record with one shutouts, a 2.79 GAA and .904 SvPct. against Calgary. Stolarz boasts a 1-2-1 mark with a 3.34 GAA and .897 SvPct.
ICE CHIPS: In three games against Calgary, former Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk has collected one goal and two assists. Remember Tkachuk’s slow offensive start to the season? He’s up to 21 goals and 71 points … Florida C/RW Sam Reinhart has posted 45 goals and 75 points in 64 games this season. He’s netted 25 of Florida’s 56 power-play goals, with Carter Verhaeghe next on the team with eight. As a team, Calgary has 28 power-play goals … Speaking of how potent Florida’s power play is, the Panthers had a run of six games with a man-advantage marker snapped last outing, and converted at least once in 16 of their last 19 games … Panthers D Aaron Ekblad will move ahead of now-Flames LW Jonathan Huberdeau for second place on Florida’s all-time list for games played with 672.
