Preview: Calgary Flames @ Carolina Hurricanes 1/14/18 (45/82): Lucky Number 7?

Calgary Flames @ Carolina Hurricanes, 1 PM MT, PNC Arena, Raleigh NC

7? Why not. The Flames make a stop in Raleigh NC before their five day break and put their winning streak on the line against the Hurricanes this afternoon. Calgary has won an impressive 6 in a row and aren’t even in the WC standings anymore, they’ve vaulted to 6th place in the Pacific Division. It’s amazing what a little tirade from your head coach and your top line getting it going again can do for your team. Calgary had won 2 in a row before Glen Gulutzan’s stick throwing session, but they’ve really taken off since then. As much as he’d probably like to take SOME credit for it, most of the credit belongs to Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Micheal Ferland. The hottest Flames trio has 15 points in their last 3 games and they don’t seem ready to slow down.

The Hurricanes comes into today having dropped 5 out of their last 7, but the Flames shouldn’t take this team lightly. The Hurricanes, prior to this lull, had won 4 straight and put themselves back into the playoff hunt. Carolina is only 1 point out of the 8th and final WC spot in the East as they head into the break. Cam Ward is 5-3-1 over his last 9 and has been handling the bulk of the load for the Hurricanes with Scott Darling getting only 2 starts in Carolina’s last 10 games.

This is the final regular season game between these 2 with Carolina winning the first meeting back on October 19th, 2-1. The Flames were a giveaway machine in that contest, turning the puck over 13 times, but they killed 5 of the 6 penalties they took in the game. The Flames are 3-6-1 in their last 10 visits to the Tarheel State.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Hurricanes Coverage: Canes Country

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 4 Florida Panthers 2

All the Flames do is win. Calgary stretched their winning streak to 6 games with a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers Friday night. David Rittich was outstanding in goal, stopping 41 of the 43 shots he faced. Here’s our recap and the highlights from NHL.com

Carolina Hurricanes 3 Washington Capitals 4

The Hurricanes last took the ice on Friday night and lost to the Washington Capitals 4-3. Cam Ward got the start between the pipes and had his 3rd straight rough start in a row. Canes Country has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Curtis Lazar (F). The much maligned forward has strung a few decent games together as of late. He and Andrew Mangiapane have looked good together and Mangiapane has looked like he’s given Lazar some life. Lazar had 3 shots on net against the Panthers, but had no luck getting his first goal of the season. Lazar has 3 points in his young career against the Hurricanes.

Carolina Hurricanes

Sebastian Aho (F). Aho leads the team in goals and points and if his last 5 is any indicator, he’s not giving up those titles any time soon. The 20 year old Finnish product has 5 goals and 2 assists in his last 5 games, including a 2 point effort against the Captials Friday night. Aho is pretty good at home too. In 19 games he has 19 points.

by Mark Parkinson