Calgary Flames vs Toronto Maple Leafs Preview 3/21/2016

Calgary Flames @ Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 PM ET, Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario

The Flames second stop on their 3 game road trip finds them in Toronto to battle the league's worst team in the Maple Leafs. The Flames and Leafs last played on February 9th with the Flames winning 4-3. As miserable as the Leaf's season has been, they are 12-12 against the Western Conference, but they don't fare well when they play the Flames. In this decade so far, the Flames own a 5-1 record against the Leafs, but are 20-34-7 all time in Toronto where the Leafs are a little less (3.9-3.5) than a half a goal better against the Flames. Both teams come in having won 3 out of their last 5, but Toronto still has the inside track to the worst record in the regular season. No doubt, the Flames would like to add to that total by sweeping the season series. Here's how the teams match-up:

The Flames last played Sunday night and took care of the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Sean Monahan netted two goals and an assist while Dougie Hamilton continued his hot streak with 3 assists. Niklas Backstrom got his first start in net this season after being traded to the Flames. He stopped 21- of 22 shots to earn the victory. Here’s the highlights:

The Leafs last took to the ice on Saturday and beat Buffalo 4-1. William Nylander and Milan Michalek each had 2 points in the win and Garret Sparks earned his 5th win of the season by stopping 21 of 22 shots. Here’s the highlights:

Calgary Flames Projected Lineup (these are the projected lines and can be changed any time before the puck drop)

Scratches: Deryk Engelland, Joni Ortio

Injuries: Karri Ramo, Ladislav Smid, Dennis Wideman

Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup (these are the projected lines and can be changed any time before the puck drop)

Scratches:

Injuries: Nathan Horton, Stephane Robidas, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Joffrey Lupul, Byron Froese, Matt Hunwick, Viktor Loov, Leo Komarov

by Mark Parkinson