Game #26: Flames at Kings Game Thread

There was once a time when a trip through California was the remedy for almost any team’s ills.

That time has long since passed.

The Flames fell 5-2 to the Anaheim Ducks yesterday and will face the Kings tonight, two teams that are at the top of the Western Conference with 39 and 36 points respectively.

The Flames did earn a victory at the Staples Center back on October 21 when TJ Brodie’s last minute goal propelled the visitors to a 3-2 win over Darryl Sutter’s troops. Karri Ramo, who will start in net tonight, backstopped his team with 27 saves verus Dustin Brown and company.

Since then, the Flames have suffered a slew of injuries and have fallen to 14th in the Western Conference, two points above the hapless OIlers. The Flames will be praying for a last-minute miracle again tonight, but after Wednesday’s loss to the Chicago Blackhawks it seems much more likely that they will be on the losing end of things if that is indeed the case.

Projected Lines and Pairings:

Flames:

Cammalleri-Stajan-Stempniak

Byron-Colborne-Hudler

Bouma-Backlund-Jones

B. Jones-Reinhart-McGrattan

Russell-Brodie

Smith-O'Brien

Smid-Butler

Ramo

Well, that’s an alarming second pairing if I’ve ever seen one, and Sven Baertschi is a healthy scratch again, surprise, surprise.

Kings:

Brown-Kopitar-Williams

King-Richards-Carter

Clifford-Vey-Toffoli

Carcillo-Stoll-Nolan

Muzzin-Doughty

Regehr-Voynov

Mitchell-Martinez

Scrivens

Go Flames.

by Hayley Mutch