Preview: Calgary Flames @ Vegas Golden Knights 3/18/18 (73/82): Flames Look Avoid 3rd Loss To Vegas

Calgary Flames @ Vegas Golden Knights, 2 PM MT, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas NV

The Flames head to Vegas this afternoon to try and avoid losing their third straight to the Golden Knights. Calgary has dropped 6 of their last 9 and it’s looking like it might be time to start thinking about the off season. There’s still 9 games left, but with who’s on the schedule and the way they have been playing it isn’t looking good.

The good news for the Flames is they got Kris Versteeg back Friday night against San Jose and he picked up a point in the loss. The bad news is Calgary’s once solid goaltending is faltering at the worst possible time. Since coming back from injury Mike Smith is 1-2-0 and he’s surrendered 10 goals in those 3 starts, including 6 on Friday night.

Vegas will try and end a 2 game losing skid at home tonight with a victory. The Golden Knights are in a bit of a funk lately as they wind down their inaugural Cinderella season having lost 4 straight at home. They are 4-5-1 in their last 10, which is rare territory for the expansion team this year. In their 4 wins they’ve given up no more than 2 goals. In their 5 losses they’ve given up 4 or more in every game, including 8 in a loss to the NJ Devils.

The Flames have lost both contests to Vegas so far this season, including a 7-3 disaster the last time they visited the Golden Knights. The Flames completely fell apart in a short span, giving up 3 unanswered goals in the 3rd period on their way to the loss.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Vegas Golden Knights Coverage: Knights On Ice

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 4 San Jose Sharks 7

Calgary last took the ice on Friday night and they got hammered by Evander Kane and the San Jose Sharks 7-4. Kane pumped in 4 goals in the win and Mike Smith got the hook in the third period after giving up his 6th goal on the night. Here’s our recap and the highlights from NHL.com

Vegas Golden Knights 2 Minnesota Wild 4

The Golden Knights last hit the ice on Friday night and dropped their second straight game, a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Erik Haula lead the attack for the Golden Knights with a goal and an assist. Knights On Ice has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Micheal Ferland (F). Ferland got the goal scoring monkey off his back on Friday night getting his first marker since February 1st. He’s been very effective lately for Calgary collecting 5 points in his last 5 games.

Vegas Golden Knights

Erik Haula (F). Haula has 51 points on the season and he’s collected 5 of those in Vegas’ last 3 games. The Finnish product has back to back 2 point games including a 2 goal effort against the NJ Devils on Wednesday.

by Mark Parkinson