Flames vs Ducks Preview

The Anaheim Ducks, second in the West, roll into the Saddledome tonight hoping to rebound after losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. They’ve lost three in a row (two in the shootout), and will be playing without Dustin Penner, who was flipped to the Capitals at the deadline for a fourth-rounder.

Calgary and Anaheim have met twice so far this season and Anaheim won both; they'll meet one more time in a couple of weeks.

The Ducks are right in the middle of the pack in FF% at 50.4%, still a significant lead over the Flames’ 46.7%. They’re notably also first in the league in GF% (goals for)—94 GF vs 58 GA, good for almost 62%. Joni Ortio, starting his fifth consecutive game, is going to get a workout tonight.

This game will also be the return of Tim Jackman to the Saddledome, traded in November for a sixth-rounder; he has 3 points and 53 PIM in 21 games.

The Flames continue to be without Matt Stajan; Kevin Westgarth will return to the lineup tonight after missing a few games with a head injury from the Battle of Alberta on March 1, and Curtis Glencross is also back after missing 29 games with a high ankle sprain.

Lineups

Anaheim

Kyle Palmieri – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry
Matt Beleskey – Nick Bonino – Jakob Silfverberg
Daniel Winnik – Saku Koivu – Andrew Cogliano
Patrick Maroon – Rickard Rakell – Teemu Selanne

Francois Beauchemin – Hampus Lindholm
Ben Lovejoy – Cam Fowler
Bryan Allen – Mark Fistric

Jonas Hiller
Frederik Andersen

Calgary

Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – Paul Byron
Mike Cammalleri – Sean Monahan – Joe Colborne
Curtis Glencross – T.J. Galiardi – Brian McGrattan (!?!)
Kevin Westgarth – Corban Knight – Max Reinhart

Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie
Ladislav Smid – Tyler Wotherspoon
Kris Russell – Chris Butler

Joni Ortio
Joey MacDonald

McGrattan has two goals in two games so BUCKLE UP, YOU GUYS

Puck drop

8:00 PM MT on Sportsnet West and radio at Sportsnet 960.

Make sure you check out Anaheim Calling for more on the Ducks before and during the game, and have a look at Hayley's 5 questions with them to get up to speed!

by Ruhee Dewji