The Flames are back in black against the Western Conference-leading Canucks
Blasty’s back. Will the fire-breathing logo and black sweaters make a difference as the Calgary Flames play host to the red-hot Vancouver Canucks on Thursday?
The Flames (5-8-2) return to the Saddledome for a brief two-game homestand looking to win consecutive games for only the second time this season.
By comparison, the Canucks (12-3-1) sit atop the Western Conference, are on a 10-1-1 run and are coming off a comeback 4-3 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Wednesday.
The Flames appear to be going back to the lineup that claimed a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, which includes putting the struggling Jonathan Huberdeau on a line with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman.
In Montreal, that trio was under water all game. (Remember, Backlund and Coleman are among the team’s most consistent players who regularly face the opposition’s most potent lines.)
The line, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, was outshot by a wide margin and was 1-11 in scoring chances for/against, against a mediocre Canadiens squad.
Lord knows what the high-scoring Canucks will accomplish if they’re on top of their game.
Here’s a look at Calgary’s expected lineup:
Forwards:
Adam Ruzicka-Elias Lindholm-Andrew Mangiapane
Jonathan Huberdeau-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Connor Zary-Nazem Kadri-Martin Pospisil
A.J. Greer-Yegor Sharangovich-Dillon Dube
Extra: Walker Duehr.
Defence:
MacKenzie Weegar-Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin-Chris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov-Nick DeSimone
Extra: Denis Gilbert
Goal:
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
Here is the expected roster for the Canucks:
Forwards:
Ilya Mikheyev-Elias Pettersson-Andrei Kuzmenko
Phil Di Fiuseppe-J.T. Miller-Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua-Teddy Blueger-Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander-Sam Laferty-Anthony Beauvillier
Defence:
Quinn Hughes-Noah Juulsen
Ian Cole-Filip Hronek
Tyler Myers-Mark Friedman
Goal:
Casey DeSmith
Thatcher Demko
DeSmith has a 0-2-0 record with a 3.47 goals-against average and .897 save percentage in three career games against the Flames.
ICE CHIPS: There was no word whether RW Andrei Kuzmenko will play. He took a puck to the face late in Wednesday’s game. Pius Suter was a late scratch for that game … Vancouver has a trio atop the league in points, with Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes all boasting 26 points. As well, Brock Boeser is tied for the league lead with 13 goals … Miller (4-6-10) and Hughes (2-8-10) are on five-game point streaks, but that pales in comparison to the run of Filip Hronek. With a point tonight, Hronek will set a franchise record of 12 consecutive games. He has netted 1 goal and 13 assists in his current 11-game spree … Vancouver’s power play scored three times against the Islanders, while Calgary has four power-play goals in the last dozen games (4-for-39).