Preview: Calgary Flames vs Montreal Canadiens 12/22/17 (36/82): Flames Look To Win 3rd Straight

Calgary Flames vs Montreal Canadiens, 7 PM MT, Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary AB

The Flames will try to extend their current winning streak to 3 as the Montreal Canadiens come to town for their only visit of the season. These two last met on December 7th with the Flames winning 3-2 in OT.

It’s been a month of streaks for the Flames as they started by losing 3, then winning 2, then losing 3 and now….you guessed it, they’ve won two in a row. A win against Montreal would do the Flames some good heading into the Christmas break as they come back with San Jose, Anaheim and Chicago. The Flames could find themselves shorthanded tonight as Jaromir Jagr is still nursing a lower body injury and Travis Hamonic sustained an injury against the Blues that will likely keep him out for tonight’s game.

Montreal meanwhile is 2-2-1 since losing to Calgary 2 weeks ago. Carey Price has come back to Earth a little, giving up 15 goals in his last 4 starts. At 15-15-4 the Canadiens are 6 points out of the last WC spot and if they’re going to get in, Price will need to be lights out.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 2 St. Louis Blues 1

The Flames last skated on Wednesday night and took down the St. Louis Blues 2-1. Calgary got goals from Michael Frolik and Dougie Hamilton, while Mike Smith stopped 21 of the 22 shots that came his way. Here’s our recap and the highlights from NHL.com

Montreal Canadiens 7 Vancouver Canucks 5

The first night of Montreal’s road trip to western Canada saw them 7-5 winners over the Vancouver Canucks. Nicolas Deslauriers scored twice and Carey Price stopped 34 of the 39 shots he faced, just enough to get the win. Habs Eyes On The Prize has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Sean Monahan (C). Monahan has 1 point in his last 6 and has only 5 points in 10 games this month. That top line has cooled off for Calgary, but Monahan is the player struggling the most. His last multi point game? His 2 goal effort in the Flames 3-2 OT win against the Canadiens.

Montreal Canadiens

Alex Galchenyuk (C). 7 games in December, 7 points. Not bad for the Wisconsin product. Galchenyuk has points in 3 of his last 5 games, but came up empty against the Flames earlier this month, firing 3 shots on goal in the 3-2 loss. Of his 19 points, he has collected 5 of them on the road.

by Mark Parkinson