Tampa Bay Lightning at Calgary Flames [Game 32]

The Calgary Flames had a nice little hiatus and should he well rested for their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They’re also on quite the win streak while the Lightning have been floundering a bit as of late. All of this points to good things ahead for the Flames.

That said, they know that they can’t underestimate Tampa Bay who are probably playing a bit beneath themselves at the moment. The also need the points – the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers all passed them in the standings while they were off. They’re still in playoff position, but would be the first wild card team at the moment.

Kris Versteeg subs in for Garner Hathaway tonight. Hathaway started off serviceable, but is now supporting a five-on-five score, zone and venue adjusted relative Corsi of under negative eight – that’s simply not serviceable enough for anybody, fourth line or otherwise. Versteeg partners up with Sean Monahan and Troy Brouwer and it’s fair to ask why Hathaway is being held responsible for lackluster play, why is Brouwer up a line on Micheal Ferland who draws fourth line duty once again.

The defense is the same and Chad Johnson starts again. The defense is reminiscent of two years ago – Mark Giordano and Dougie Hamilton are the Flames elite pairing and everybody else is rather lackluster. This will need to improve if Calgary is going to make a playoff push.

by Les Mavus