Calgary Flames @ Seattle Kraken, 8 PM MT, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle WA

Calgary Flames 15-7-6 (36 pts) - Seattle Kraken 10-17-4 (24 pts)

TV: SNW - Radio: Sportsnet 960

Odds: Calgary (-140) Seattle (+115) O/U: 5.5

The Calgary Flames are finally back on the ice...for a day at least, as they make their first regular season visit to take on the Seattle Kraken.

Calgary has been on hiatus since December 12th as they were hit very hard by the Covid-19 Omnicron variant. At one point the Flames had 20 players in the NHL’s Covid Protocol and they were shut down long before the rest of the NHL was given a break to to Covid running it’s way through a lot of the other teams in the league.

Now illness and breaks are never good for a team, but the Flames were stumbling a bit before they started testing positive and the break may do them some good. Calgary had dropped five of their last eight and were also on a four game losing skid prior to being shut down. The good news is almost every player was asymptomatic and is ready to go tonight in Seattle.

As for the Kraken, they’re experiencing the pitfalls of being an expansion team in their first season. Seattle sits at the bottom of the Pacific Division in 8th place with only 24 points, eight behind 7th place Vancouver. The Kraken have had reasonable success putting the puck in the net, scoring 86 goals in 31 games. Where they have struggled is keeping the puck out of the net. The Kraken don’t have a goalie with a Save% over .900, with Chris Driedger’s .896 being the best on the squad.

Former Flames Captain Mark Giordano will get his first look at his old squad during the regular season tonight. Gio scored the opening salvo in the Kraken’s 4-3 shootout win at the Saddledome back on September 29th in the preseason. Offensively it hasn’t been the best year for Giordano so far, as he has only eight points in 25 games. That paltry total puts him 14th on the Kraken in points and he’s 6th in scoring amongst Seattle defenceman.

What will be interesting tonight is to see how the Flames come out after having a long break. Historically it hasn’t been the best when the Flames get long breaks, but this Seattle team could be what helps Calgary get back on track. The Kraken are 6-9-2 at home and even worse in the Pacific Division. They are currently 2-7-0 within the division and have lost seven out of their last nine.

Puck drop is at 8 PM MT tonight from Seattle.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Seattle Kraken SBN Coverage: Davy Jones Locker Room

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 2 - Boston Bruins 4

Seattle Kraken 2 - Philadelphia Flyers 3 (OT)

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images

Matthew Tkachuk (F): 3 points in last 5 games

Seattle Kraken

Photo by Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images

Jordan Eberle (F): 3 points in last 4 games

On The Struggle Bus

Calgary Flames

Mikael Backlund (F): 1 point in last 9 games

Seattle Kraken

Mark Giordano (D): 1 point in last 13 games