Calgary Flames (7-5-2) at Buffalo Sabres (6-7-1)
When: Saturday, 11 a.m. MT, KeyBank Center
TV: Sportsnet West. Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan
Odds: Sabres -150, Flames +125
The buzz:
Brew an extra pot of coffee and settle into your favourite recliner, because this is an early start. The Flames have worked late on two previous stops on this road trip, with overtime required in both Montreal and Boston. Matt Coronato was Tuesday’s hero in La Belle Province, while Brad Marchand had the sudden-death snipe for the bad guys in Beantown. Dustin Wolf was sharp in consecutive starts, although our best guess is that Dan Vladar will be between the pipes in Buffalo.
The Sabres have rolled to back-to-back wins by blowout margins, including Thursday’s 6-1 drubbing of the Rangers in New York. They chased Igor Shesterkin just past the midway mark, the first time in more than a year that the Rangers have hooked their star netminder. Tage Thompson’s stat-line in his past two outings shows a pair of goals, three points and 13 shots on net, while blue-liner Bowen Byram has also tallied twice and is a plus-5 over that same span.
The quote:
“We’ve put ourselves in a position to have a winning road-trip, and I think that’s important for us that we do everything we can to make that a reality. We’re playing against a team that’s probably feeling really good about itself right now too, so I think the challenge for us, as always, will be making sure that we’re committed to playing the right way and doing it for 60 minutes.”
— Head coach Ryan Huska as the Flames shoot to conclude this trip with a 2-0-1 record
The poll:
Who should the Flames start in goal against the Sabres?
- Dan Vladar
- Dustin Wolf
The news:
- The Flames have won six in a row in Buffalo. Their last loss at KeyBank Center was back in November 2016.
- Huska made a noteworthy tweak to his forward lines during Friday’s practice, with Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary joined by Yegor Sharangovich on what could be a fascinating combo. Sharangovich, who has skated for the past few games at centre, should have more opportunity to utilize his wicked shot as he shifts back to the wing. Martin Pospisil will get another look up the middle, with Jonathan Huberdeau on his left and Andrei Kuzmenko on his right.
- Forward call-up Dryden Hunt joined the team in Buffalo, but he was operating as the spare forward Friday.
- Sabres star Tage Thompson has scored every one of his nine goals this season at even-strength. Only Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov is in double digits in that stat category.
- After signing with his hometown Sabres in the summer, former Flames defenceman Dennis Gilbert has dressed for only three games this fall. That does include two in a row, however, so it seems likely he will remain in the lineup against his old pals.
The projected lineup:
- Forwards
- Zary-Kadri-Sharangovich
- Huberdeau-Pospisil-Kuzmenko
- Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
- Lomberg-Rooney-Kirkland
- Defence
- Bahl-Andersson
- Weegar-Miromanov
- Bean-Pachal
- Goalies
- Vladar
- Wolf
The injuries:
- Anthony Mantha (lower body)
In case you missed it:
The roster deadline for the 4 Nations Face-Off is fast approaching, and Flames alternate captain Rasmus Andersson is making a strong case to be selected by Team Sweden for that best-on-best competition. Wes Gilbertson asked Andersson and Canada’s MacKenzie Weegar what it would mean to be skating on the international stage in mid-February.