Preview: Calgary Flames vs Vegas Golden Knights 1/30/18 (50/82): First Place Vegas Invades The Dome

Calgary Flames vs Vegas Golden Knights, 7 PM MT, Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary AB

All the breaks are over and the Flames are back to work as they welcome the Vegas Golden Knights to the Saddledome for their first ever match-up. The Flames hold a very loose grip on the 6th playoff spot in the West and their play of late hasn’t inspired much confidence in the fan base.

Calgary is in the midst of a 4 game losing streak that came on the heels of a 7 game winning streak. The Flames have dropped 4 straight in extra time, getting at least a point, but they’ve struggled to find the back of the net. The Flames have scored only 6 goals in the 4 losses, 3 of those coming against Edmonton. Calgary will get some good news on the scoring front as Michael Frolik will return to the lineup after a significant absence due to being hit with a puck in the face.

What’s not to like about what the Vegas Golden Knights have accomplished? Their inaugural season is something written out of a movie. Vegas sits atop the Western Conference with 32 wins and 68 points. The expansion teams has the second best record in the NHL, they’ve scored the 4th most goals in the league and they’ve been tough to beat on the road with a 13-9-2 record.

Vegas had a hot start to the season going 8-3-0 right out of the gate and piled on with an 11-1-1 record in December. The Western Conference has been playing catch up for most of the season, but the Winnipeg Jets are nipping at the Golden Knights heels, just 2 points behind front running Vegas. The Golden Knights has “cooled off” a bit as they’ve gone 6-3-2 in the month of January.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Vegas Golden Knights Coverage: Knights On Ice

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 3 Edmonton Oilers 4 (SO)

The Flames hit the All Star Break with a 4-3 SO loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Calgary blew an early 2 goal lead and fell in a shootout after an entertaining and bizarre overtime. Here’s our recap and the highlights from NHL.com

Vegas Golden Knights 1 NY Islanders 2

The Knights last game before the break had them locking horns with the NY Islanders and Vegas had their 2 game winning streak snapped with a 2-1 loss. Knights On Ice has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Michael Frolik (F). The Flames will finally get their 3M Line back together tonight as Michael Frolik will return to the lineup. Frolik has been sidelined since he took a puck to the face back on December 28th against the San Jose Sharks. Frolik will be welcomed back with open arms as he will reunite the Flames successful line of Frolik, Matthew Tkachuk and Mikael Backlund. In 37 games so far this season, the Czech Republic forward has only 15 points, but he’s a penalty killing machine.

Vegas Golden Knights

David Perron (F). If there was anyone who didn’t want to see the All Star Break it was Perron. The Sherbrooke Quebec product had 7 points in the 5 games leading into the break. He’s also been tough to stop on the road, collecting 22 points in the Golden Knights 21 road games on the season.

by Mark Parkinson