:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49157667/usa-today-9122184.0.jpg)
Calgary Flames @ Minnesota Wild, 8 PM ET, Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
| Broadcast Schedule |
| TV: RSNW, FSN |
| Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan |
The Flames take a trip to Niklas Backstrom's old stomping grounds tonight as they finish out a 3 game road trip in Minnesota. Not only is this Backstrom's home coming, it's also the first time David Jones will take on his former team since being traded to the Wild. Minnesota finds themselves barely hanging on to a Wild Card spot at 81 points, only one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche. A win tonight for the Wild will help them in their playoff quest and their home rink has been a decent place to play the Flames. Calgary owns a 42-35-4 overall record against the Wild, but Minny is 21-18-1 when playing at home. This is the second time these two teams have played this season with Minnesota winning the last game 5-3 on February 17th. The Flames will close out the regular season with the Wild again on April 9th. Minnesota comes into this contest having won three in a row and two of those have come against playoff heavy weights Chicago and LA.The Flames meanwhile have are 1-1 on their current 3 game trek having beaten Montreal, but they were manhandled by the league worst Toronto Maple Leafs. Here's how the teams match-up:
| Calgary Flames | Minnesota Wild | |
| 31-36-6 | Record | 35-28-11 |
| 68 | Points | 81 |
| 5th Pacific | Division | 5th Central |
| 11th West | Conference | 8th West |
| 4-6 | Last 10 Games | 6-4 |
| 200 | Goals For | 193 |
| 225 | Goals Against | 185 |
| Gaudreau (27) | Goals | Coyle (21) |
| Gaudreau (71) | Points | Koivu (50) |
| Ramo (.909) | SV % | Dunmyk (.918) |
| 28th (15.9%) | PP | 12th (18.9%) |
| 29th (75.6%) | PK | 27th (77.8%) |
The Flames last played on Monday night and lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. It was another tough outing for Jonas Hiller in net as he gave up 3 goals on 24 shots. Joe Colborne continued his hot play by scoring his 16th goal of the season and Matt Stajan scored Calgary's only other goal in the loss. Here's the highlights:
The Wild last took to the ice on Tuesday night and beat their Western Conference rivals the LA Kings 2-1. Devan Dubnyk backstopped the win by stopping 38 of 39 shots that came his way, Minnesota got goals from Erik Haula and Mikko Koivu to put them past the Kings. Here's the highlights:
Calgary Flames Projected Lineup (these are the projected lines and can be changed any time before the puck drop)
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Johnny Gaudreau | Sean Monahan | Josh Jooris |
| Lance Bouma | Mikael Backlund | Michael Frolik |
| Micheal Ferland | Sam Bennett | Joe Colborne |
| Brandon Bollig | Matt Stajan | Garnet Hathaway |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Mark Giordano | Dougie Hamilton |
| TJ Brodie | Jerkin Jokipakka |
| Jakub Nakladal | Tyler Wotherspoon |
| Goalies | |
| Joni Ortio | Niklas Backstrom (s) |
Scratches: Deryk Engelland, Freddy Hamilton, Jonas Hiller
Injuries: Karri Ramo, Ladislav Smid, Dennis Wideman
Minnesota Wild Projected Lineup (these are the projected lines and can be changed any time before the puck drop)
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Jason Zucker |
Mikko Koivu |
Charlie Coyle |
| Zach Parise | Mikael Granlund | David Jones |
| Nino Niederreiter | Erik Haula | Justin Fontaine |
| Chris Porter | Jarret Stoll | Jordan Schroeder |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Ryan Suter | Jared Spurgeon |
| Marco Scandella | Jonas Brodin |
| Mike Reilly | Mathew Dumba |
| Goalies | |
| Devan Dubnyk (s) | Darcy Kuemper |
Scratches:
Injuries: Jason Pominville