New York Islanders at Calgary Flames [Game 70]

			-AT-
			5:00 PM MST
Radio	Network		Arena		Network	Radio
88.7 FM WRHU	MSG+		Scotiabank Saddledome		SN	960 AM CFAC
League	Value		Metric		Value	League
22nd	50.0%		Points Percentage		56.5%	18th
18th	16.35%		Net Power Play Percentage		15.81%	21st
30th	77.49%		Net Penalty Kill Percentage		83.19%	16th
26th	93.83%		Combined Special Teams Percentage		99.00%	17th
8th	3.19		Goals for per Game (All Situations)		2.83	20th
31st	3.57		Goals against per Game (All Situations)		2.91	14th
7th	.25		Penalty +/- per Game (All Situations)		.03	16th
27th	47.32%		Shot Attempt Percentage (5V5 Score Adjusted)		53.15%	3rd
29th	45.55%		Scoring Chance Percentage (5V5 Score Adjusted)		53.63%	3rd
11th	100.79%		P.D.O. (5V5)		99.76%	16th
3rd	9.00%		Shooting Percentage (5V5)		7.20%	24th
27th	91.79%		Save Percentage (5V5)		92.56%	14th
Data from Hockey-Reference.com and Natural Stat Trick
The Enemies’ Lair
Lighthouse Hockey

The New York Islanders and Calgary Flames square off at the ScotiaBank Saddledome as the two teams play each other for the second and final time this year. This will be the first contest where Travis Hamonic has home ice advantage against his former club. The Islanders received the Flames first and second round picks in return for their second pairing defenseman.

The Flames playoff odds have improved considerably – their odds bottomed out at about 15 percent earlier in the week, but timely losses by the teams that their chasing combined with a three game point streak have them back up to around 29 percent. A victory here would put their odds up to 34.8 percent while a loss would decrease it to 17.6 according to Sportsclubstats.com. While not a must win game, this one is certainly incredibly important.

As for the Islanders, their season has fallen off the rails and it would take a miracle for them to make the post season. Coming in at NHL .500, they would need to get 24 points in their last 14 games to make playoffs. With that being said, a victory here would still serve them well as knocking down the Flames playoff chances boosts their chances of getting Calgary's lottery pick.

There will be no changes to the Calgary forward or defense tonight. Ross Johnston will draw in for the Islanders in replacement of Chris Wagner. The Islanders traded Jason Chimera for Wagner at the trade deadline and he's responded with a -22 percent relative shot attempt margin in his first five games – that will get somebody benched rather quickly.

Mike Smith makes his return to the Flames lineup after missing exactly one month with a hip injury suffered in the closing minutes of the Islanders and Flames game at Barclays Center. Christopher Gibson will start in net for the Islanders. Gibson has technically had the better numbers of the two thus far, but he's only played in two NHL games this season.

Puck drop is at 5:05 P.M. M.S.T. The game can be seen on Sportsnet in the Calgary market or MSG+ in the New York Metropolitan area.

New York Islanders Projected Lineup

Calgary Flames Projected Lineup

by Les Mavus