Game Day: Flames Host Canucks On New Year’s Eve

The Calgary Flames (17-13-7) host the Vancouvers Canucks (16-16-3) in their final game of 2022. (8:00 p.m. MT. Sportsnet One/Fan960).

They've been idle a couple of days since Jonathan Huberdeau scored his first winning goal as a member of the Flames on Wednesday in Seattle against the Kraken. But Saturday night's contest is a chance to punctuate a year that has been pretty good when all is taken into consideration. 

It will take more of the solid defensive work the Flames have been pretty solid at since mid-November, and displayed again in Seattle (minus a couple of shifts) in an important divisional victory. 

"We had some good moments in Seattle. Obviously, I thought we played well against Edmonton, too, just didn't get the result," Calgary Flames winger Elias Lindholm told media Saturday morning. "So, we've just got to keep building. Had a good practice yesterday, so keep building, have a good start. 

"(Vancouver has) been a good road team lately, so it's important to have a good start."

Lindholm says focus is the main reason for the ability to keep their goals-against down the last six weeks. 

"I think we're just more dialled in. Doing the little things better and be more aware in the d-zone," Lindholm said. "Still, there's things we can clean up. Seattle had a couple breakaways and stuff like that, but I think just more dialled in."

The Canucks lost 4-2 to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday despite a strong performance by Collin Delia in goal. He made 35 saves to keep them in it. Andrei Kuzmenko scored his 15th of the year and has been a real bright spot for the Canucks offence in his first NHL season. 

Prior to that loss, the Canucks were rolling with three straight wins. 

Calgary Flames projected lineup

Forwards:

Dillon Dube – Elias Lindholm – Tyler Toffoli

Milan Lucic – Nazem Kadri – Jonathan Huberdeau

Andrew Mangiapane – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman

Trevor Lewis – Adam Ruzicka – Brett Ritchie

Defence:

Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson

MacKenzie Weegar – Chris Tanev

Nikita Zadorov – Michael Stone

Goaltender:

Jacob Markstrom

Vancouver Canucks projected lineup

Forwards:

Ilya Mikheyev — Bo Horvat — Brock Boeser

Conor Garland — J.T. Miller — Curtis Lazar

Andrei Kuzmenko — Elias Pettersson — Sheldon Dries

Dakota Joshua — Nils Aman — Jack Studnicka

Defence: 

Quinn Hughes — Ethan Bear

Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Tyler Myers

Travis Dermott — Luke Schenn

Goaltender:

Spencer Martin