Toronto Maple Leafs @ Calgary Flames Preview: More Magic?

It is the second and last game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Calgary Flames this season. The first one didn’t go so well for the Flames, who fell 4-1, with Jonathan Bernier making 32 saves for the win. Markus Granlund was the lone Flames goal scorer. That was game number two of the eight game losing streak of December.

Last game was pretty special for the Flames, who roasted the Ducks (I’ll let myself out) 6-3, and scored four goals on seven shots in the final 40 minutes. Man, that was fun. Our favourite new daddy, Matt Stajan, potted two goals. Rookie papa, Jiri Hudler scored one to tie his career high 57 points. And Johnny Gaudreau showed all the haters just how small he is, scoring two goals to give him 50 points on the season. He’s the first Flames rookie to reach 50 points since some guy named Jarome Iginla (we miss you). | Recap | Fancy Stats | Boxscore | Highlights:

Toronto played a tough game against a tough opponent, the Buffalo Sabres, on Wednesday. Luckily, they won in a shootout. Against the elite goalies the Sabres are carrying these days, that’s got to be difficult. But Tyler Bozak scored on the first shot and Bernier stopped all Sabres attempts to pull it off. Toronto was in playoff position early in the season, but has seen a major decline since before the new year, and is now starting a rebuild of their own, if they could have just gotten rid of Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel on March 2nd.

For more on the enemy, head over to Pension Plan Puppets.

Game Time: 6:00 PM MST

Channel: SNW, TSN4

All-Time Record: Including the Atlanta days, the Flames are 59-57-12-1 with a goal differential of +32 against the Leafs. Only one OT loss in their history, that's fun.

Common Threads: Alberta boys, Joe Colborne and Mason Raymond, have both played for the Leafs in the past. Matty Franchise was also drafted by Toronto, thanks guys!

Remember when Leafs captain and husband to Elisha Cuthbert, Dion Phaneuf, played for the Flames? I was a big fan back then, not so much now. Old friend, Tim Erixon was just picked up from waivers by Toronto too.

Earlier this week, Mike did a two part analysis on Mikael Backlund, comparing him to Toronto's own Nazem Kadri. So there's that.

Approaching Milestones: Games played countdown: Dennis Wideman needs seven to a total of 700, Mason Raymond needs two and Kris Russell needs three to reach 500 each. Raphael Diaz is getting there and needs 10 games to 200. David Jones needs 10 goals to 100, and TJ Brodie needs five points to 100.

Looking at career highs: Brodie needs three more goals to set a new career high going all the way back to junior (as does Lance Bouma), and Jiri Hudler needs two goals, five assists, and one point to be that much more awesome.

As for what the Flames are looking to prevent, Joffrey Lupul needs seven goals to reach 200, Tyler Bozak is looking for nine goals to total 100, Eric Brewer can get to 200 assists with nine more, and Dion Phaneuf is within reach of 400 points, needing four more.

Scoreboard Watching:

The Minnesota Wild are playing the Anaheim Ducks tonight. Let’s hope the Ducks come out fighting to make up for the loss against the Flames on Wednesday.

Current Records and Leaders

Possible starting lineups

#freeBrodie (!!)

Also, Kadri is still out due to 'disciplinary reasons.'

by saltysyd