Sean Monahan and the Flames Will Try and Slow Down The Kings: Flames vs Kings Preview

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

The Flames have left Anaheim in a hot, fiery mess and now head up the highway to take on the 3rd place, playoff bound, LA Kings. It literally can’t get any worse than what happened in Anaheim, so things have to be trending up right? Well, Calgary is 0-2 so far this season against LA and the Flames are 3-7 in back to back’s this season, so maybe not. Joni Ortio will get the start for the Flames in net tonight, so immediately the Flames will at least be in the game. It’s not the Honda Center, but any LA arena hasn’t been kind to the Flames. Calgary has a 52-65-9 overall record when visiting Tinsel Town and a back to back isn’t the best scenario for this club. With that said, the Flames are 4-2 in their last 6 against LA on their home ice. Injury wise, Johnny Gaudreau, Jyrki Jokipakka and Michael Frolik are all listed as Day to Day with injuries, which isn’t going to make this any easier. Remember last season when Calgary eliminated LA from the playoffs and got in themselves? There’s always that to look back on. Here’s how the teams match-up:

The Flames last played on Wednesday night and, well, it was bad. They traveled to their own House of Horrors to take on the Ducks and were blown out, 8-3. And that score makes the game seem closer than it really was. Jonas Hiller gave up 3 goals on 5 shots and was pulled before the halfway mark of the 1st. Niklas Backstrom took over and fared no better. He gave up 5 goals on 17 shots in 2 1/2 periods and the Flames were sunk from the start. Hunter Shinkaruk scored his first NHL goal and TJ Brodie and Mark Giordano each scored in this loss. Here’s the “highlights:”

The Kings last skated on Monday and were beaten by division rivals San Jose 5-2. Jonthan Quick made some ridiculous saves, but it wasn’t enough as he gave up 4 goals on 30 shots. Vincent Lecavalier accounted for both LA goals scoring his 9th and 10th of the season. Here’s the highlights:

Starting Goalies

Calgary Flames

Joni Ortio: 5-8-4, GAA: 2.76, SV% .903

LA Kings

Jonathan Quick (expected): 38-21-4, GAA: 2.24, SV% .918

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames: Hunter Shinkaruk, 1 goal, 1 assist in his first 2 NHL games

LA Kings: Jeff Carter, 4 points in last 5 games (2 goals, 2 assists)

Injuries

Calgary Flames: Karri Ramo, Dennis Wideman, Ladislav Smid, Johnny Gaudreau, Michael Frolik, Jyrki Jokipakka

LA Kings: Kris Versteeg, Jordan Nolan, Marian Gaborik, Matt Greene

by Mark Parkinson