Lineup notes and moves as the Flames look to snap their six-game losing skid
It wasn’t enough to stop their losing skid — now at six games — but the Calgary Flames had possibly their best period of the season in the third period of Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars.
Can Calgary build upon it against the speedy-but-struggling Kraken?
The Flames (2-7-1) are off to one of the worst starts to a season in franchise history and changes are already taking place, with Martin Pospisil the third player in four games to make his NHL debut.
The Kraken, one of the league’s biggest surprises last season, have limped out of the gates with a 4-5-2 mark, but have won two straight outings.
A key to Seattle’s success is strong first periods. The Kraken have outscored opponents 13-7 in the opening frame.
Seattle players to watch include Jaden Schwartz, who is on a five-game point streak (2-5-7), while Jared McCann has scored in three consecutive games and Brian Dumoulin has tallied in each of the past two outings.
Here’s a look at Calgary’s probable lineup:
Forwards:
Jonathan Huberdeau-Elias Lindholm-Andrew Mangiapane
Martin Pospisil-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Connor Zary-Nazem Kadri-Yegor Sharangovich
Dryden Hunt-Dillon Dube-Walker Duehr
Extras: AJ Greer and Adam Ruzicka (shoulder).
Defense:
MacKenzie Weegar-Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin-Chris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov-Dennis Gilbert
Extra: Nick DeSimone
Goal:
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
Here is the expected roster for the Kraken:
Forwards:
Tye Kartye-Matthew Beniers-Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jaden Schwartz-Alexander Wennberg-Jordan Eberle
Jared McCann-Yanni Gourde-Eeli Tolvanen
Devin Shore-Pierre-Eduard Bellemare-Kailer Yamamoto
Defense:
Vince Dunn-Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak-William Borgen
Brian Dumoulin-Justin Schultz
Goal:
Philipp Grubauer
Joey Daccord