Game #15: Flames at Wild Game Thread

Reto Berra made 42 saves in a very impressive NHL debut for the rookie Swiss netminder on Monday night; the visiting Flames beat the fifth-best in the West Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime.

Berra will get the start again tonight in Minnesota while fellow Swiss national Sven Baertschi will be a healthy scratch tonight for the Flames. Baertschi has just one point in his past five games, but his ice time has been decreasing for the past three, hovering around the 13-minute mark. Although he may not be scoring at the moment, Baertschi’s defensive effort against one of the best teams in hockey on Sunday night was nothing to sneeze at. As Robert Cleave points out, Baertschi was one the ice for just one even strength scoring chances against when the Flames played the ‘Hawks, but was replaced by Mikael Backlund as the game progressed.

Lance Bouma will return to the lineup tonight and Chad Billins, signed by the Flames this summer, will make his NHL debut tonight on the blueline.

Here are your projected lines and pairings:

Glencross-Stajan-Jones

Cammalleri-Colborne-Galiardi

Bouma-Monahan-Hudler

Jackman-Backlund-McGrattan

Butler-Brodie

Russell-Wideman

O'Brien-Billins

Berra

Wild:

Parise-Koivu-Coyle

Niederreiter-Granlund-Pomiville

Cooke-Brodziack-Fontaine/McMillan

Heatley-Konopka-Mitchell

Suter-Brodin

Ballard-Stoner

Spurgeon-Scandella

Harding

The Wild have won five of their past six games and are playing the final game of a four-game homestand tonight at the Xcel Energy Centre. Josh Harding has won his past four starts and allowed only four goals in the process.

Go Flames!

by Hayley Mutch