Calgary Flames vs Carolina Hurricanes, 7 PM MT, Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary AB

Calgary Flames 15-6-5 (35 pts) - Carolina Hurricanes 17-6-1 (35 pts)

TV: SNW - Radio: Sportsnet 960

Odds: Calgary (-110) Carolina (-110) O/U: 5.5

The Calgary Flames return home to the Saddledome after a four game road trip to face one of the best teams in the East in the Carolina Hurricanes. Calgary went 2-2-0 in a trip through California and Vegas, culminating in a disappointing 5-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night. While the Flames may enjoy this brief home cooking (two quick ones and back on the road), what’s waiting for them is no easy task.

The Carolina Hurricanes will provide the biggest test for the Flames on this young season as they are almost a mirror image of each other. Their GF, GA, PP%, PK% and overall record/points are all very similar, but Carolina’s 35 points finds them in third place in the VERY tough Metropolitan Division.

The Canes come into this contest on a nice two game winning streak that has seen them outscore their opponents (Buffalo and Winnipeg) 10-4, which is a nice reprieve from where they were as the month of November came to a close. Carolina hit the skids, dropping five of six, with three of those coming in the Western Conference. For a majority of the year it’s been easy sailing for this group as they won 14 out of their first 16 games, including nine in a row to open the season. That start may have taken some by surprise, but it certainly put the league on notice and showed that this team may have staying power.

The Flames meanwhile looked tired at the end of that road trip and can you blame them? The schedule makers put the Flames on the road for 17 of their first 26 games and despite that they’ve gone 11-4-2 away from the Saddledome. You really can’t ask for much more than that and they’ve played the Eastern Conference well. The Flames have faced the Met/Atlantic 12 times on the road and gone 9-1-2 over that stretch, including five shutouts.

This is a different beast that is waiting for the Flames and it should be a decent barometer for how good this team really is. The key tonight for the Flames is to stay out of the penalty box. Calgary has taken 10 penalties in their last four contests, luckily they were able to kill all but two of those penalties.

Puck drop is at 7 PM MT from the Scotiabank Saddledome.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Carolina Hurricanes SBN Coverage: Canes Country

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 3 - San Jose Sharks 5

Carolina Hurricanes 4 - Winnipeg Jets 2

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Milan Lucic (F): 3 points in last 5 games

Carolina Hurricanes

Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images

Sebastian Aho (F): 7 points in last 3 games

On The Struggle Bus

Calgary Flames

Noah Hanifin (D): 0 goals in last 7 games

Carolina Hurricanes

Jordan Staal (F): 0 goals in last 17 games