Preview: Calgary Flames @ Carolina Hurricanes 2/26/17 (63/82)

It’s always good to get hot and be on a roll, but if there ever was a time for the Flames to do it, now is the time and they are. Calgary is 8-2-1 in their last 11 and are currently on a 3 game winning streak and won 4 out of their last 5. The Flames have now moved into the 7th spot in the Western Conference, putting them 1 point ahead of St. Louis and 4 points ahead of the Kings. And while we’re at it, the Flames sit only 1 point behind the Nashville Predators who are in 6th place in the West.

Carolina on the other hand is WAY out of playoff contention and look less like a hurricane and more like a gentle breeze. The Hurricanes had a great start to January as they won 5 out of their first 7. Then the bubble burst. Since a 7-4 win over the Islanders back on January 14th Carolina has gone 4-9-1, including 4 and 5 game losing streaks. The Canes are buried in the East basement and they are showing no signs of climbing out of that position this season.

The last time these two met, Carolina beat the Flames 4-2 back on October 20th. The Flames are only a game over .500 when visiting the Hurricanes and they’ve been bad when traveling to the Tarheel State recently. In their last 5 trips, the Flames are 1-4-0.

Here’s how the teams match-up:

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 4 Florida Panthers 2

The Flames continued to roll through their 5 game road swing with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers. After a wild first period that saw 5 goals being scored, the Flames added 1 more and won their 3rd in a row. Here’s our recap, the highlights and Mikael Backlund’s post game thoughts.

Carolina Hurricanes 3 Ottawa Senators 0

Carolina won for the first time in 5 games as they beat the Ottawa Senators 3-0 Friday night. Eddie Lack was outstanding, stopping all 34 shots he faced en route to his 9th career shutout. Canes Country has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Calgary Flames

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Hot: Matthew Tkachuk (F). Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Matthew Tkachuk is tearing it up. The 19 year old rookie has 6 points in this last 5, including 2 multi assists against Nashville and Florida. While rookie leads the Flames in PIM, he is second on the team in points with 41.

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Not: Sam Bennett C). Yes, Bennett scored a goal against Florida, but he’s been in a horrible slump. Bennett has only 2 goals in his last 21 games and is’t helping himself when it comes to getting a new contract this summer. The Ontario product is typically up and down over the course of a season, but he’s been uncharacteristically bad this season.

Carolina Hurricanes

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Hot: Jordan Staal (C). Staal has 32 points on the season, 4 of which have come in his last 5 games. He’s had 2 multi point games over the stertch, notching 1 goal and 3 assists.

Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

Not: Cam Ward (G). Ward is 2-7-1 in his last 10. He’s given up 3 goals or more in all of his losses and he’s had a 4 game losing streak and 2 separate 2 game losing skids in the last 2 months.