Thunderstruck: Flames @ Tampa Bay Lightning preview (17/82)

Calgary Flames @ Tampa Bay Lightning – 5:30pm MT

Tuesday night was a strange game. The defence was awful, Ramo let a couple of soft ones in, but the Flames still nearly won. Weird.

Anyway, the Flames head north-west for a meeting with rumoured trade target Steven Stamkos, and his Tampa Bay Lightning. You know what accompanies lightning, right?

Apparently the Lightning are struggling this year, mostly based on the fact they lost to a Jack Eichel-inspired Buffalo the other night. I wish the Flames were having their season.

ICYMI

Calgary Flames 3-4 Florida Panthers

Game recap

Weird, really. The D was never really in it, but the Flames were never out of it. Two struggling teams in a game full of mistakes.

Projected lines

• Karri Ramo starts again, because for the most part he’s performing pretty well – he just needs to stop the soft ones.
• Ladislav Smid, of all people, draws into the lineup. Deryk Engelland sits as a healthy scratch. Count that as Engelland and Bollig as healthy scratches, and pinch yourself accordingly. Why Smid, who knows, but hey ho.
• Today’s practice was optional, so I’d expect the lines to mostly stay the same. This is Bob Hartley though, so your guess is as good as mine.

Milestones

Should Brandon Bollig draw in, this will be his 200th game. David Jones' two against Florida puts him with Michael Frolik in needing two for 100. Jason Garrison is three assists away from 100.

Other games today

Lots of east vs west games tonight. The Bruins host the Avalanche (5pm MT), the Rangers entertain the Blues (5pm), the Wild travel to the Hurricanes (5pm), the Canucks are in Ottawa (5:30pm), the Devils take on the Blackhawks (6:30pm), and the Isles are in LA (8:30pm). Elsewhere, Alex Ovechkin’s goal hunt goes to Philly (5pm), the Sabres continue their south-eastern trip in Sunrise against the Panthers (5:30pm), the Leafs are in Nashville (6pm), the Stars host the Jets (6:30pm) and the Oilers travel to the Coyotes (7pm).

Join us in the gamethread, where we'll be getting our Stamkos jerseys ready.

by Liam McCausland