Game Day: Can Flames Beat The Odds In Vegas?

The house always wins. At least it does when the Calgary Flames (27-20-11) visit the Vegas Golden Knights (34-18-5). 

Only two NHL teams have yet to win a single game at T-Mobile Arena. Only one of them has yet to even earn a point. That would be the Flames, who are 0-7-0 in visits to Vegas. 

Coming off an important win over the Arizona Coyotes less than 24 hours ago (starring rookies Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr), the Flames are planning to beat the odds. But historically, those have been stacked against them. 

Vegas has outscored the Flames 30-8 in those seven contests, including three shutouts. On the other side of that spectrum, the Flames have been generous, allowing the Knights to score six or more goals three times. 

The Knights are atop the Pacific Division standings heading into the contest. The Flames are in a battle for the final wild-card spot at the moment. Every game feels like a must-win. 

"I think we need a really good start here tonight," Calgary Flames centre Mikael Backlund told Flames TV on Thursday. "If we do that, I think we'll have a big chance to have success here tonight."

Winger Tyler Toffoli echoed that. Poor starts are a major reason the Flames have been blanked in the seven visits so far. 

"Just be ready for the start, be ready for the atmosphere here," Toffoli said. "Tonight's going to be another really good test for us and a big match."

The Coyotes battled hard, taking a 3-1 lead over the Flames on Wednesday before the Flames battled back and scored five straight to finish strong. A comeback may not be as easy against the Golden Knights. 

"They play fast, they play quick," said Flames associate coach Kirk Muller, subbing in for Darryl Sutter. "We're going to have to be a real committed team to check hard and be a strong, disciplined team."

Every win is an opportunity to show GM Brad Treliving what he needs to do at the NHL trade deadline. 

Jacob Markstrom is expected to get the start because Dan Vladar started on Wednesday. Aside from that, the lineup should remain the same. 

Calgary Flames projected lineup

Forwards:

Dillon Dube – Elias Lindholm – Tyler Toffoli

Jakob Pelletier – Nazem Kadri – Jonathan Huberdeau

Andrew Mangiapane – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman

Milan Lucic – Trevor Lewis – Walker Duehr

Defence:

Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson

MacKenzie Weegar – Chris Tanev

Nikita Zadorov – Dennis Gilbert

Goaltender:

Jacob Markstrom

Vegas Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards:

Paul Cotter – Jack Eichel – Jonathan Marchessault

Reilly Smith – William Karlsson – Michael Amadio

Will Carrier – Chandler Stephenson – Phil Kessel

Brett Howden – Byron Froese – Keegan Kolesar

Defence:

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Goaltender: 

Laurent Brossoit