Game Nine Preview: Calgary hosts Hurricanes

This evening at 7PM, the Flames will continue their first homestand of the year at the Scotiabank Saddledome. They’ll face off against the Carolina Hurricanes for the first of two contests this season, with the rematch in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 10th. They’re in the second show of a five-game homestretch. They started out with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. They’ll continue against the Washington Capitals on Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, and the Nashville Predators on Halloween. The Canes will be playing in the middle game of a five-game road trip. They lost in a shootout to the New York Rangers last Thursday and 3-1 on Tuesday to the Winnipeg Jets. They’ll continue with matches against the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow and the Vancouver Canucks next Tuesday.

The last time these two faced off was January 13th in the middle of last season. The Flames won the contest, 2-0 behind goals from Mikael Backlund (7) and Sean Monahan (13). Karri Ramo, turned aside all 23 Hurricanes shots for his first career shutout. Anton Khudobin took the loss for the Canes, making 27 saves on 29 shots. * Box Score * Full Recap

Ramo discussed his first shutout later:

You can find more about the Hurricanes at Canes Country.

In Calgary’s last game action, the Flames skated the Tampa Bay Lightning scoreless through two periods before Johnny Gaudreau skated through the entire team and finished with a perfect setup for Dennis Wideman for a 1-0 lead. Ramo had a shutout until there was 2:16 left in regulation, when Valtteri Filippula redirected a Jason Garrison shot for the equalizer. Jonathan Drouin earned his first NHL point on the play, with a secondary assist. Ondrej Palat sealed the deal for the Bolts in overtime for the 2-1 win. Ramo finished with 20 saves, Evgeni Nabokov earned the win with 21. * Box Score * Full Recap

Flames captain Mark Giordano discussed the Flames loss:

There's more about the Lightning at Raw Charge.

Carolina earned their fifth loss in their first five games on Tuesday night, in a 3-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, and Adam Lowry earned markers for the Jets, while Jiri Tlusty had the only goal for the Hurricanes. Anton Khudobin stopped 23-of-26 shots in the loss, while Ondrej Pavelec made 21 saves for his second win of the season. * Box Score * Full Recap

Carolina coach Bill Peters had some thoughts about the Hurricanes' slow start to the season:

For more on Winnipeg (I can't imagine why you would want to go there, but it takes all types…), go to Arctic Ice Hockey.

GameTime: 7PM MT

Where2Watch: SPSO, SNF

All-Time Record: Historically, the Flames have the Carolina Hurricanes / Hartford Whalers number, with a 40-17-8 all-time record. They've outscored the Canes by an average of a goal per game since the Whalers joined the NHL.

Current Record

Calgary Flames: 4-3-1, nine points, on pace for 92 points, fifth in the Pacific Division, eighth in the Western Conference, 18th in the NHL. Last Five: W-W-L-W-O. Playoff Odds: 55.9%

Carolina Hurricanes: 0-3-2, two points, on pace for 33 points, eighth in the Metropolitan Division, 15th in the Eastern Conference, 29th in the NHL. Last Five: L-L-O-O-L. Playoff Odds: 22.8%

Milestones

Kris Russell needs three more assists to earn his career 100th. Jiri Hudler is one point short of 300 for his career, Dennis Wideman is just one point behind him, with 298.

Elsewhere

Seven other games fill the bill in action tonight in the NHL.

New York Islanders vs. Boston Bruins, 7PM
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings, 7:30PM
Vancouver Canucks vs. St. Louis Blues, 8PM
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators, 8PM
Arizona Coyotes vs. Minnesota Wild, 8PM
Buffalo Sabres vs. Los Angeles Kings, 10:30PM
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. San Jose Sharks, 10:30PM

Probable Starting Lineups

Calgary Flames

Carolina Hurricanes

Flames Leaders

Average Time on Ice: Defensemen; TJ Brodie – 25:15, Mark Giordano – 24:16
Forwards; Mikael Backlund – 18:21, Curtis Glencross – 17:28, Mason Raymond – 17:12

Goals: Mason Raymond – 5, TJ Brodie, Dennis Wideman – 3

Assists: Joe Colborne – 6, Mark Giordano – 5, TJ Brodie – 4

Points: TJ Brodie, Mason Raymond – 7, Joe Colborne, Mark Giordano – 6

Penalty Minutes: Deryk Engelland – 13, Ladislav Smid – 11, Mark Giordano – 9

Shots-on-Goal: Mason Raymond – 21, Sean Monahan – 20, TJ Brodie – 17

Faceoffs: Sean Monahan (68-of-129) – 52.7%, Mikael Backlund (93-of-181) – 51.4%, Joe Colborne (59-of-122) – 48.4%

Hits: Curtis Glencross – 23, Brandon Bollig – 22, Lance Bouma – 17

Blocked Shots: Kris Russell – 27, TJ Brodie – 18, Mark Giordano – 16

Keep checking back with us throughout the day for continued coverage of all your Flames news. The GameThread goes live 30 minutes before the puck drops, the recap soon after the game, and the deep stats recap tomorrow morning. Follow us on Twitter, "like" us on FaceBook, and keep a bookmark at M&G.

by Kevin Kraczkowski