Calgary Flames vs LA Kings Preview 2/23/2016 (57/82)

Calgary Flames @ LA Kings, 10:30 PM ET, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

Well, the good news is the Flames aren't in Anaheim. The bad news is they're in LA where the Flames are a career 52-64-9 when they take on the Kings. The only time these two have played so far this season was on New Year's Eve when the Kings beat Calgary 4-1. LA has had an up and down month so far, finding themselves 4-5 in February with 3 OT games in that stretch. LA finds themselves 4th in the West with 72 points , comfortably in the playoff picture. The Flames meanwhile find themselves sputtering towards the end having lost 3 very important games versus Western Conference opponents this month. This is 1 of 3 games left this season against the Kings and taking one in LA would do wonders for the young Flames' confidence. Calgary started wheeling and dealing yesterday, so who knows who might be suiting up as it gets closer to game time. Here's how the teams match-up:

The Flames last played on Sunday afternoon in their own personal house on horrors in Anaheim. The Ducks controlled this game from the very start and handled the Flames easily to the tune of 5-2. As if losing to the Ducks wasn’t bad enough, ex-Canucks Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa had 3 points between the 2 of them in the game. Jonas Hiller continued to struggle between the pipes giving up 5 goals on 33 shots. Mikael Backlund continues to be a bright spot for Calgary as he scored his 11th goal of the season in the loss. Here’s the highlights:

The Kings last took the ice on Saturday and squeaked by the Predators in OT 2-1. Jonathan Quick stopped 32 of 33 shots and the Kings got goals from Jake Muzzin (7) and Tanner Pearson scored his 8th of the season in OT to get the Kings the victory. Here’s the highlights:

Calgary Flames Projected Lines (these are the projected line and can change at any time up until puck drops)

Scratches: Micheal Ferland, Dennis Wideman (Susp)

Injuries: Kris Russell, Karri Ramo, Ladislav Smid

LA Kings Projected Lineup (these are the projected lines and can be changed any time before the puck drop)

Scratches: None

Injuries: Matt Greene, Marian Gaborik, Anze Kopitar

by Mark Parkinson