Will the Sharks Put a Playoff Death Bite on the Flames?

Game Preview #76

Do or Die. This is it. A loss here will certainly seal the Flames fate. If the Flames lose they will be very firmly in the realm of needing not just one but two teams ahead of them, and with games in hand, to blow tires at this point.

The Flames are hanging on by one fingernail at this point. They must take two points from the Sharks to keep even remote playoff hopes alive. The Flames have firmly entered the realm of needing to win out and we all know how often that happens.

The Sharks for all intents and purposes are in but they have been so hot lately I don’t expect them to take a night off. This is the season for the Flames tonight without a doubt.

Continued after the jump…

The Stat Rack

Number Crunch

By the numbers the Sharks have the edge notwithstanding their rather atrocious PK, which stands out like a sour thumb among the other top ten rankings.

The Flames once again will be looking for their offense to carry the day and must not take penalties. The Flames weak Faceoff % can potentially haunt them in this one especially given the strong Sharks Faceoff %.

Alive in the Last Five

Flames

Jarome Iginla – 3G 2A -1 in his last 5GP

Rene Bourque – 2G 3A (even) in his last 4GP

Sharks

Joe Pavelski – 3G 8A +3 in his last 4GP

Patrick Marleau – 2G 5A -1 in his last 4GP

Joe Thornton – 3G 2A +1 in his last 4GP

Dan Boyle – 0g 6A +1 in his last 5GP

Torrey Mitchell – 2G 3A +5 in his last 5GP

Anticipated Roster (subject to change by game time)

Anticipated Game Style

I expect a shoot-out in the Shark tank. The last one started to get very chippy and this one could go the same way. The Sharks are more or less a lock for the playoffs at this point, the Flames are all but mathematically out.

We should see the Flames put everything on the line because the only way to keep even a fingernail on the playoff hunt is to win this one.

One on One

Mikael Backlund vs Joe Thornton

It is time for Mikael to take off the training wheels. My early line-up shows him centering the first line and he very well may be lining up against Big Joe. Time to throw Mikael to the Sharks and see how he fairs, sink or swim. This is the season on the line now.

Go Mikael…

The Magic 8-Ball

The Magic 8-ball and most people with a calculator say the Flames must win tonight or it is over, seriously over.

by M Smith