Connect with us

Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames at Ottawa Senators game preview: The end of the Brier road trip

"The Flames are bad against the eastern conference," said everyone, and then the Flames went on to have a winning record over the seven-game eastern swing in response.

Published

on

The Calgary Flames have been away for the last two weeks, pushed out of the Saddledome to make way for the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier. Well, it’s now come down to this: while Team Jacobs takes on Team Morris-now-Simmons for gold, the Flames take on the Ottawa Senators in the finale of what is currently a 4-2 road trip. The Flames and Sens haven’t played each other since November, when Calgary ran off with a 4-2 win, featuring three goals in the third period.

Last time we saw the Flames, they only had two goals in the third period. That was okay, though, because they had three goals in a row prior to that, as they surprised the Detroit Red Wings to beat them 5-2. It was a real team affair, as 11 Flames put points on the board, and Jonas Hiller was sharp as he stopped 33 of 35 to ensure his team the victory. | Recap | Stats | Boxscore | Jiri Hudler had two goals to bury his former team, and they were great:

The Senators, meanwhile, are currently out of the playoffs, but very much in the fight to make them. They have an eight-game point streak to thank for that, going 7-0-1 in those games (the one overtime loss being to the Minnesota Wild in the shootout). Rookie goaltender Andrew Hammond has started their last nine games, so this point streak is especially on him, what with his .954 save percentage and two shutouts and all. He’s been absolutely nuts, so the Flames may be getting off easy with Craig Anderson back between the posts for the first time since January 21st.

Erik Karlsson spent his night last night reblogging people’s pets on his Tumblr, because he’s great. And hopefully a little sleepy.

For more on the opposition, be sure to head on over to Silver Seven.

Game time: 5:00 p.m. MT, right during the Brier. Good news is we'll soon be back to normal times!

Channel: TVA, CITY

All-time record: These guys haven't played much, so it's just a 17-12-4-1 record for the Flames over the Sens. With a +22 goal differential. It'd sure be nice to add to that!

Common threads: Rookie goalie Chris Driedger, currently with the Sens, was just last season playing for the Calgary Hitmen. He has yet to play an NHL game.

And it’s a shame Paul Byron is injured. He’s never played for Ottawa, but that’s where he’s from, so that would have been nice for him.

Approaching milestones: Dennis Wideman needs another nine games to have 700 on the career. Meanwhile, just four more for Mason Raymond to hit 500, and five more for Kris Russell for the same tally.

David Jones remains 10 goals away from 100, while TJ Brodie is down to five more points for 100. Karri Ramo needs just 10 more wins for 50 on the career.

Michael Ferland and Emile Poirier are both looking for their first NHL goals.

On the other side, Milan Michalek is two goals away from 200, while Bobby Ryan just needs one more assist for 200 of those. David Legwand is one point away from 600 in his career. All realistic possibilities, and hopefully none of them will happen.

Scoreboard watching: Just one tonight, as the Minnesota Wild host the Colorado Avalanche, who will hopefully win (although it’s looking pretty good for Minnesota to make the playoffs).

Current records and leaders

Calgary Flames Ottawa Senators
Record: 36-25-4: 76 points Record: 29-23-11: 69 points
Pacific Division: 3rd Atlantic Division: 6th
Western Conference: 8th Eastern Conference: 10th
Goal Differential: +20 Goal Differential: +10
Time on ice
Defence: TJ Brodie (25:14 per game)
Forward: Sean Monahan (19:23 per game)
Defence: Erik Karlsson (27:03 per game)
Forward: Kyle Turris (19:05 per game)
Points
Goals: Sean Monahan (24)
Assists: Mark Giordano (37)
Points: Jiri Hudler (54)
Goals: Mike Hoffman (23)
Assists: Erik Karlsson (34)
Points: Erik Karlsson (50)
Shots
Shots on goal: Mark Giordano (157)
Shooting percentage: Jiri Hudler (18.7%)
Shots on goal: Erik Karlsson (226)
Shooting percentage: Chris Neil (17.4%)
Faceoff Leaders
Sean Monahan (50.4%, 1426 taken) Kyle Turris (48.7%, 1097 taken)
Grit
Penalty minutes: Brandon Bollig (52)
Hits: Lance Bouma (219)
Blocked shots: Kris Russell (221)
Penalty minutes: Mark Borowiecki (83)
Hits: Mark Borowiecki (152)
Blocked shots: Cody Ceci (83)
ES Corsi/Fenwick (minimum 1/2 team’s games played)
Corsi for%: Mark Giordano (48.4%, 61 GP)
TJ Brodie (47.1%, 65 GP)
Fenwick for%: Josh Jooris (50.2%, 48 GP)
Mark Giordano (48.6%, 61 GP)
Corsi for%: Patrick Wiercioch (54.7%, 38 GP)
Mark Stone (52.9%, 61 GP)
Fenwick for%: Patrick Wiercicoh (52.9%, 38 GP)
Mark Stone (51.6%, 61 GP)

Possible starting lineups

Calgary Flames
Left Wing Center Right Wing
Johnny Gaudreau Sean Monahan Jiri Hudler
Lance Bouma Mikael Backlund Joe Colborne
Mason Raymond Josh Jooris Drew Shore
Brandon Bollig Matt Stajan David Jones
Left Defence Right Defence
Kris Russell Dennis Wideman
TJ Brodie Deryk Engelland
David Schlemko Rafa Diaz
Goalies
Karri Ramo
Jonas Hiller

Ottawa Senators
Left Wing Center Right Wing
Mike Hoffman Mika Zibanejad Bobby Ryan
Milan Michalek Kyle Turris Mark Stone
Curtis Lazar Jean-Gabriel Pageau Erik Condra
Matt Puempel David Legwand Alex Chiasson
Left Defence Right Defence
Marc Methot Erik Karlsson
Patrick Wiercioch Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki Eric Gryba
Goalies
Craig Anderson
Chris Driedger/Andrew Hammond

This will be Anderson's first game since he suffered a deep bruise on his blocker hand on January 21st. That also means that 'the Hamburglar' will be sitting, despite his hot streak as of late.

Looks like David Jones will be slotting back into the lineup after taking a shot to the leg early in Thursday's game. He missed the game on Friday. This means the kids (Poirier and Ferland) will sit.

by Ari Yanover