Nashville Predators (11-20-7) at Calgary Flames (18-13-7)
When: Saturday, 8 p.m. MT, Scotiabank Saddledome
TV: Sportsnet West/Sportsnet One. Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan
Odds: Flames +105, Predators -126
The buzz
Flames head coach Ryan Huska had the fan-base buzzing — howling might actually be a better description — when he hinted Friday he could soon steer away from his goaltending split, saying he’ll consider more of a hot-hand approach as the playoff race intensifies. That is potentially good news for rookie netminder Dustin Wolf, who has a sparkling stat-line at the Saddledome this season. In a dozen appearances in front of the C of Red, the 23-year-old has posted a 10-1-1 record with a 1.97 goals-against average and .937 save percentage. Wolf will be back between the pipes Saturday against the Predators, another opportunity to state his case that he deserves to string together more starts.
The quote
“I think it’s worked well, to date. I think both guys have been good for us. They have given us chances to win. And I think as we keep going, you’ll probably see, if there is some separation between one or the other guy, that someone is going to get a little more regular starts. I’m not saying you’re going to run a guy for 15 games but two-of-three is more certainly something that we will start to look at.”
— Flames head coach Ryan Huska on his goaltending rotation
The news
- The Flames have won both meetings so far this season — a 2-0 shutout at the Saddledome on Nov. 15 and a 4-3 triumph in Nashville on Dec. 10.
- The Predators will be on the second half of a back-to-back after Friday’s clash with the Canucks in Vancouver.
- Based on Friday’s practice units, Andrei Kuzmenko will return to the lineup against the Predators. Kuzmenko has been scratched for seven of the past eight outings. The coaches have been pleading with the slumping right-winger to put more pucks on net — he hasn’t registered a shot in any of his past five appearances.
- Calgary-raised Ozzy Wiesblatt received his first career call-up earlier this week. The Predators acquired Wiesblatt in a summer swap from San Jose and the 22-year-old forward — an alum of the Buffaloes AAA program — has notched seven goals and 14 assists in 27 games this season with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals.
- Mark Jankowski, who was Calgary’s first-round selection back in 2012 and spent parts of four seasons at the Saddledome, seems to enjoy playing against his original team. He’s only faced the Flames three times but has hit the score-sheet in each of those contests, with a goal and two assists.
- Flames third-round pick Henry Mews was named Friday to the CHL’s Team of the Month. The 18-year-old defenceman piled up 20 points in 11 December dates on behalf of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s.
The projected lineup
- Forwards
- Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil
- Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
- Pelletier-Zary-Sharangovich
- Lomberg-Rooney-Kuzmenko
- Defence
- Bahl-Andersson
- Hanley-Weegar
- Bean-Pachal
- Goalies
- Wolf
- Vladar
The injuries
Flames forwards Justin Kirkland and Anthony Mantha are out for the season due to knee injuries.
In case you missed it
After Friday’s comments from the head coach, we dig into the debate about Huska’s puck-stopping plan.