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Tonight, the Calgary Flames are aiming for another sweep. So far, the Flames have gone 4-0-0 against the Arizona Coyotes, outscoring them 17-6 along the way. Arizona is currently sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference, going strong in the McEichel sweepstakes (or tank war as the race for the bottom is fondly called). On the other hand, Calgary is smack dab in the middle of a very tight playoff race with the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets. There is but one outcome that would benefit both teams tonight.
The result of last game, against the Edmonton Oilers, turned out well, as the Flames picked up a shutout and two valuable points in the standings, and the Oilers kept steady in the tank war with Arizona and the Buffalo Sabres. Karri Ramo sacrificed himself early in the game so Jonas Hiller wouldn't have to give up a weak early goal, and Dennis Wideman hit 50 points on the season. | Recap | Fancy Stats | Boxscore | The good stuff:
As for the Coyotes, they were able to squeak out a 5-3 win over the flailing San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The victory was their first regulation win since February 3rd. It took them 27 games to win in regulation again. The tanks are strong with this one.
To read more on the Coyotes, head over to Five for Howling.
Game time: 7:00 PM MT
Channel: SNW
All-time record: Going back to the Atlanta Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets days, the Flames are 92-76-20-6 with a +57 goal differential.
Common threads: The teams have shared a couple of David's. David Moss was drafted by and played for Calgary before becoming a Coyote, and David Schlemko actually started this season with Arizona, before being claimed from waivers twice and making his way to Calgary as a shootout master.
Approaching milestones: The only Flame who will (hopefully) reach a milestone games played at this point is Lance Bouma, who is two games away from 200.
David Jones and Dennis Wideman are still in the race to 100 goals, each needing eight. And Sean Monahan is looking for six more points to reach 100 on his young career.
Coyotes goalie, Mike Smith, is looking for three shutouts to reach 20. Coyotes fans and Flames fans alike do not want to see this happen this season.
Unwanted and unrealistic: Lauri Korpikoski needs nine assists to 100, and Kyle Chipchura is nine points away from 100.
Unwanted but realistic: Oliver Ekman-Larsson and David Moss need one assist each to 100. Shane Doan is two points from 900. No. Just no.
Scoreboard watching:
- Winnipeg Jets @ St. Louis Blues (6:00 PM MT): C'mon Blues. I think we've begged enough.
- Los Angeles Kings @ Edmonton Oilers (7:30 PM MT): No hope here after the 8-2 loss last time.
Current records and leaders
Calgary Flames | Arizona Coyotes |
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Record: 43-29-7: 93 points | Record: 24-47-8: 56 points |
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Pacific Division: 3rd | Pacific Division: 7th |
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Western Conference: 8th | Western Conference: 14th |
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Goal Differential: +26 | Goal Differential: -95 |
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Time on ice | |||||
Defence: Mark Giordano (25:10 per game) Forward: Sean Monahan (19:34 per game) |
Defence: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (25:07 per game) Forward: Shane Doan (19:00 per game) |
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Points | |||||
Goals: Sean Monahan (30) Assists: Jiri Hudler (43) Points: Jiri Hudler (72) |
Goals: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23) Assists: Keith Yandle (37) Points: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (43) |
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Shots | |||||
Shots on goal: Sean Monahan (185) Shooting percentage: Jiri Hudler (19.3%) |
Shots on goal: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (251) Shooting percentage: Justin Hodgman (33.3%) |
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Faceoff Leaders | |||||
Sean Monahan (49.4%, 1780 taken) | Kyle Chipchura (51.2%, 875 taken) |
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#GRITCHART | |||||
Penalty minutes: Brandon Bollig (88) Hits: Lance Bouma (260) Blocked shots: Kris Russell (275) |
Penalty minutes: Kyle Chipchura (80) Hits: Michael Stone (196) Blocked shots: Michael Stone (182) |
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ES Corsi/Fenwick (minimum 1/2 team's games played) | |||||
Corsi for%: Mark Giordano (48.44%, 61 GP) Josh Jooris (47.36%, 57 GP) Fenwick for%: Josh Jooris (49.71%, 57 GP) Mark Giordano (48.60%, 61 GP) |
Corsi for%: Martin Erat (53.43%, 76 GP) Sam Gagner (52.07%, 78 GP) Fenwick for%: Martin Erat (52.93%, 76 GP) Sam Gagner (50.31%, 78 GP) |
Possible starting lineups
Calgary Flames | |||||
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Left Wing | Center | Right Wing | |||
Johnny Gaudreau | Sean Monahan | Jiri Hudler | |||
Lance Bouma | Matt Stajan | David Jones | |||
Mason Raymond | Mikael Backlund | Joe Colborne | |||
Michael Ferland | Markus Granlund | Josh Jooris |
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Left Defence | Right Defence | ||||
Kris Russell | Dennis Wideman | ||||
TJ Brodie | Deryk Engelland | ||||
David Schlemko | Corey Potter | ||||
Goalies | |||||
Jonas Hiller |
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Brad Thiessen |
Arizona Coyotes |
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Left Wing | Center | Right Wing | |||
Tobias Rieder | Mark Arcobello | Shane Doan | |||
Martin Erat | Sam Gagner | David Moss | |||
Craig Cunningham | Kyle Chipchura | Jordan Szwarz | |||
Tye McGinn | Joe Vitale | B.J. Crombeen | |||
Left Defence | Right Defence | ||||
Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Michael Stone | ||||
Klas Dahlbeck | Andrew Campbell | ||||
Connor Murphy | John Moore | ||||
Goalies | |||||
Mike Smith |
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Louis Domingue |
No changes to the line-up for the Flames as it seemed to work last time.
I selfishly wish Sam Bennett would slot in, so I could be there for his debut.
Also, #freetspoon.