Preview: Calgary Flames @ Winnipeg Jets 4/5/18 (81/82): Calgary’s Lost 11 of 15, Jets Won 13 of 17.

Calgary Flames @ Winnipeg Jets, 6 PM MT, Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg MB

The end is near my friends. The Flames will travel to Winnipeg for the the second to last game of the 2017-18 season on Thursday night. The Flames season is done and they don’t even seem to be playing for pride lately. They out shoot the opponent, yet rarely find the back of the net. The defence looks like they’ve packed it in at times and the goaltending, well, it’s been bad to be kind about it.

The Flames are in a nice little free fall as the play out the string. They are 4-10-1 in their last 15 and they’ve dropped 8 of their last 9. Calgary hasn’t scored a PPG since March 7th, an unthinkable stretch of 0-28. The only things to look forward to are Spencer Foo getting his first NHL goal and Johnny Gaudreau collecting his 60th assist. If he does he’ll be the first Flames player since Theo Fleury to collect 60 helpers.

The Winnipeg Jets are a machine that just keeps rolling. They hold the #2 spot in the Western Conference with 110 points, only 3 behind conference leading Nashville. Winnipeg is led by their stud goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. He is second in the league in wins (42), tied for first in games played (65), 3rd in the league in saves (1831) and 3rd in shut outs (6). He’s good. Winnipeg also has the league’s 4th best PP, scoring at 23.7% with the man advantage. There really isn’t much that they don’t do well as is evidenced by their record. The Jets are 13-3-1 in their last 17 games.

Calgary took the first meeting of the season from the Jets, but lost the last time they played 2-1 in a SO back on January 20th. Calgary is 2-3-0 in their last 5 trips to Winnipeg.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Winnipeg Jets Coverage: Arctic Ice Hockey

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 1 Arizona Coyotes 4

There really isn’t much to say about this one. Calgary put 43 shots on net compared to Arizona’s 21 and lost 4-1. Here’s our recap and the highlights from NHL.com

Winnipeg Jets 5 Montreal Canadiens 4 (OT)

The Jets won their 3rd straight taking down the Montreal Canadiens in OT 5-4. Kyle Connor collected his 30th goal of the season with the OT winner, getting Winnipeg it’s 50th win on the season. Arctic Ice Hockey has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Spencer Foo (F). Foo was THIS close to getting his first career NHL goal on Tuesday night in Calgary’s 4-1 loss to the Coyotes. He lead all Flames players in SOG with 7 and it’s only a matter of time before he nets his first NHL goal.

Winnipeg Jets

Kyle Connor (F). Connor has 5 points in his last 5 games, including a 3 point effort against the Canadiens. His 55 points put him 5th on the Jets in scoring, but he came up empty in the one game he’s played against the Flames this season.

by Mark Parkinson