The Calgary Flames are on the road for two critical matchups against two Central Division heavyweights this weekend, starting with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.
The Calgary Flames (23-16-7) will travel to face two of the top teams in the Central Division over the weekend. First, they draw the Minnesota Wild (28-16-4) at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday night.
In the year's first meeting on Nov. 23, the Flames pulled out a 4-3 shootout win at the Saddledome thanks to Rasmus Andersson netting the winner in the fifth shootout round.
The Flames are 6-4-0 in their last ten games, recently defeating the Buffalo Sabres at home on Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Wild (5-5-0) were just shut out by the Utah Hockey Club 4-0 two nights ago.
Between the Pipes
Dustin Wolf will look to continue the momentum he's built up over the last two games, wins over the Winnipeg Jets and Sabres, when he faces future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury on Saturday night.
Moreover, he'll look for a bounceback performance against the Wild. He made a relief appearance against them last season, giving up two goals on 13 shots in 38:30 of action.
Meanwhile, Fleury is getting his fifth start in the past eight games. He's having a resurgence recently, producing a 3-1-0 record with a .940 SV%.
Saturday night will mark his 24th career start against the Flames. Fleury has a 14-7-1 record versus Calgary, including a 2.12 GAA and .931 SV% with five shutouts.
Conversation Starters
- What can Jakob Pelletier do for an encore performance? After arguably his best game as an NHLer, all eyes will be on the 23-year-old to see if he can impact Saturday's game, especially after getting bumped up to the top line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri.
- As mentioned, Wolf has been nearly unbeatable in the last two contests, making 70 saves on 73 for a .959 SV%. However, he's just 5-5-1 on the road, a sharp contrast to his 12-2-1 home record. Does he have another road game steal in him?
- Martin Pospisil appears to be demoted to the third line. Since last scoring on Nov. 23, he's picked up only six assists. Now, he has an opportunity with different linemates that could spark him to find his game and earn those top-line minutes again. In three games against the Wild, he's got one career goal. Can he get number two on Saturday?
Where Are They Now?
- Calgary
- Minnesota
Flames & Wild Leaders
- Goals: Jonathan Huberdeau (19) / Kirill Kaprizov (23)
- Assists: MacKenzie Weegar (17) / Kirill Kaprizov (27)
- Points: Jonathan Huberdeau (35) / Kirill Kaprizov (50)
- PIM: Martin Pospisil (66) / Marcus Foligno (49)
- PPG: Jonathan Huberdeau (5) / Matt Boldy (6)
- SOG: Nazem Kadri (154) / Matt Boldy (165)
Per the Flames staff at NHL.com, here's a breakdown of tonight's lineup. (Subject to change)
FORWARDS
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Nazem Kadri -- Jakob Pelletier
Rory Kerins -- Yegor Sharangovich -- Martin Pospisil
Clark Bishop -- Kevin Rooney -- Andrei Kuzmenko
DEFENCE
Mackenzie Weegar -- Daniil Miromanov
Joel Hanley -- Brayden Pachal
GOALIES
SCRATCHES
Jake Bean, Rory Kerins
Tonight's game starts at 5:00 p.m. MT and is available on FDSNWI, FDSNNO, SNW, and Sportsnet+.
