Calgary Flames
Flames Kick Off Three Game Homestand With A Visit From The Chicago Blackhawks
Believe it or not, the Blackhawks are on a roll lately.
Calgary Flames vs Chicago Blackhawks, 7 PM MT, Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary AB
Calgary Flames 11-3-5 (27 pts) – Chicago Blackhawks 6-10-2 (14 pts)
TV: SN1 – Radio: Sportsnet 960
Odds: Calgary (-120) Chicago (+100) O/U: 5.5
The Flames are finally home after spending two weeks on the road and they were two very successful weeks at that. The Flames had seven dates with the Eastern Conference and came home 4-1-2 with three shutouts under their belt. And if you want to go even further back, of Calgary’s last seven victories, six have been by way of the shutout. And they’re scoring like crazy as well. On that road trip the Flames scored a combined 18 goals in their four wins and only surrendered two. It’s absolutely ridiculous what this team is doing right now, especially in-between the pipes. The Flames goaltending tandem of Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar is the best in the NHL right now and their seven shutouts in 19 games is something no team has done since 1923.
We all know how the Blackhawks season unfolded and it was a nightmare to start. Forget the on ice product which lost nine in a row and 11 out of their first 12, but there was the internal investigation that turned the organization and hockey world on it’s head as a whole. Chicago has done a decent job recently recovering on the ice, winning five out of their last six games, but it’s been an offensive struggle to say the least. In their five victories the Blackhawks have scored more than three goals only one time and are average a meek 2.4 goals per game. The silver lining to that futility is that Marc-Andre Fleury has started to right the ship. The big name addition to Chicago this offseason has won four in a row and surrendered an average of 1.5 GPG over that stretch. He started the season in a free fall, losing his first five starts and allowing 20 pucks to find the back of the net.
If Chicago has any prayer of winning tonight they’ll have to slow down a Flames attack that has been relentless in the last two weeks. Calgary has scored 19 goals in their last five and then there’s the goaltending which has given up only four goals in their last five. It will certainly be an uphill battle tonight for Chicago and if Calgary can put three in tonight, this one should be over early. The key for the Flames? Score early. Calgary leads the NHL with scoring the opening goal 15 times this year.
| Calgary Flames | Chicago Blackhawks | |
|---|---|---|
| 11-3-5 | Record | 6-10-2 |
| 27 | Points | 14 |
| Pacific (1st) | Division | Central (7th) |
| 63 | GF | 39 |
| 36 | GA | 58 |
| Mangiapane (15) | Goals Leader | DeBrincat (11) |
| Gaudreau (22) | Points Leader | Kane (17) |
| Gudbranson (26) | PIM | Murphy (16) |
| Vladar (.945) | Save% | Fleury (.911) |
| 24.6 (6th) | PP | 17.7 (19th) |
| 87.5 (5th) | PK | 86.0 (8th) |
| 4-0-1 | Last 5 | 4-1-0 |
| 82-86-26 | Overall VS | 86-82-26 |
| Player | Record | GAA | Save% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flames: Markstrom (E) | 7-3-4 | 1.71 | .942 |
| Blackhawks: Fleury (E) | 5-7-0 | 3.05 | .911 |
| Chicago Blackhawks |
|---|
| Tyler Johnson- Neck IR-LT |
| Riley Stillman- Knee IR |
| MacKenzie Entwistle- Ankle IR-LT |
What’s Happening With The Opposition?
Chicago Blackhawks SBN Coverage: Second City Hockey
Last Time Out
Calgary Flames 4 – Boston Bruins 0
Chicago Blackhawks 1 – Vancouver Canucks 0
Players To Watch
Calgary Flames
Johnny Gaudreau (F): 7 points in last 4 games
Chicago Blackhawks
Alex DeBrincat (F): 6 points in last 4 games
On The Struggle Bus
Calgary Flames
Dillon Dube (F): 1 goal in last 13 games
Chicago Blackhawks
Jonathan Toews (C): 0 goals in 18 games
by Mark Parkinson
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