Calgary Flames (20-14-7) at Chicago Blackhawks (14-27-2)
When: Monday, 5:30 p.m. MT, United Center
TV: Sports on Prime. Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan
Odds: Flames -132, Blackhawks +110
The buzz
The Flames wrapped the first half of their schedule with Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at the Saddledome. They remain just one point out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference, a fight that few predicted they would be a part of. One of their keys to success in the second half will be improved results in enemy rinks, and there’s optimism that they may be starting to roll on the road. They have won three of their past four in their whites, bumping their away record to 6-8-4.
After the Edmonton Oilers managed to cool off Connor Bedard, the Flames will look to follow suit. The 19-year-old Bedard had his nine-game point spree — the longest of his NHL career so far — snapped in Saturday’s 4-3 home loss to the Oilers. Bedard’s recent rip, which started with a three-point pop-off in Calgary on Dec. 21, has been about the only good news for a squad that is sitting rock-bottom in the NHL standings. Even as the sophomore star piled up a dozen points during his nine-game tear, the Blackhawks were a woeful 2-7 over that span.
The quote
“Now that we’re in that conversation, you can get the confidence from it and say, ‘No, we’re one of these teams now.’ We’re capable of being here, which is why we’re here, and we’re going to continue to prove people wrong.”
— Flames forward Ryan Lomberg on the playoff hunt
The news
• The Flames are aiming to complete a sweep of their season series against the Blackhawks. They’ve twice bested Bedard’s bunch at the Saddledome — a 3-1 victory in mid-October and a 6-4 triumph in their final outing before the holiday break.
• Matt Coronato, an alum of the USHL’s Chicago Steel, has scored three of his 10 goals this season against the Blackhawks.
• Jonathan Huberdeau notched Saturday’s game-winner at the Saddledome. With 18 markers at the midway point, he’s currently on pace for a career-high of 36.
• The Blackhawks have struck first in 26 of their games so far, tied for tops in the league in that stat category.
• Check back after Monday’s morning skate for lineup updates.
The projected lineup
Forwards
Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
Pelletier-Sharangovich-Kuzmenko
Lomberg-Rooney-Duehr
Defence
Bahl-Andersson
Hanley-Weegar
Bean-Pachal
Goalies
Wolf
Vladar
The injuries
Flames centre Connor Zary is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Zary is expected back at some point this season, which isn’t the case with either Justin Kirkland or Anthony Mantha.
In case you missed it
Flames netminder Dustin Wolf is getting some love in the mid-season awards projections. Let’s take a closer look at his Calder Trophy candidacy.