Gamethread: Joni Ortio Expected To Start In Last Battle Of Alberta At Rexall Place

The final Battle Of Alberta this season.

The final Battle Of Alberta at Rexall Place ever.

The Calgary Flames are visiting the Edmonton Oilers tonight.

The projected lineup looks quite different than usual with a few players being bumped around. It's a mix and match extravaganza in Edmonton tonight.

Joni Ortio is expected to start in net. Mark Giordano and Deryk Engelland will be the first pairing on the blue line while T.J. Brodie will be paired with Dougie Hamilton and Jakub Nakladal will be paired with Jyrki Jokipakka. Up front, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan will have a new linemate in Hunter Shinkaruk while Lance Bouma, Mikael Backlund, and Joe Colborne will back them up on the offensive. Micheal Ferland, Sam Bennett, Josh Jooris will make up the third line and Brandon Bollig, Matt Stajan, Derek Grant will be the fourth line grit.

For more information on the projected lineups, you can find it on the Flames website.

It's a battle of the bottom-feeders tonight as Calgary tries to remain out of 30th place in the NHL while the Oilers try to dig their way out. There's not a lot riding on this game, but, let's face it, it's hockey and we can't get enough no matter which team we cheer for.

Go Flames Go!

by Traci Kay