Calgary Flames (21-16-7) at Winnipeg Jets (31-12-3)
When: Saturday 5 p.m. MT, Canada Life Centre
TV: Sportsnet West. Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan
Odds: Jets -215, Flames +176
The buzz
Suddenly, this feels like a game the Flames can’t lose.
The standings absolutely don’t back that up, of course. Despite losing two straight to the St. Louis Blues this week, the Flames head into Saturday’s matchup with the high-flying Jets still sitting in the Western Conference’s second Wild Card position, one point ahead of the floundering Vancouver Canucks.
And yet, those two losses to the Blues stung. They had playoff implications, even though it’s only January, as the chasing Blues picked up four points on the Flames and they, too, are now only one point back of a playoff spot. It’s a three-way fight.
And Thursday night’s 4-1 loss hurt. It was ugly, and the Flames didn’t put up much of a fight. They weren’t hard to play against, and that’s supposed to be their calling card.
So suddenly, it feels awfully important to stop the bleeding and get back on track.
Unfortunately, it’s the Jets standing in the Flames’ way.
Yes, the same Jets who are tied with the Washington Capitals for the most points in the entire NHL. The same Jets who have scored more goals than any team in the league and have the best goal-differential, at +54, too.
If you’re the glass-half-full type, at least you can argue that there’s no better team to beat if you’re trying to make a statement.
The Flames just need to pick up points, though.
The quote
“We’ve just got to stay out of the box, it’s a big thing. If we’re good on the forecheck and good on the tracking and play good in our own zone and play most of the time in the o-zone, there’s not a lot of teams that can play with us. We just have to play our type of hockey.”.
— Flames winger Jakob Pelletier on what the team needs to do to beat the Jets.
The news
- Jamie Tubb of the Medicine Hat News reported that Flames prospect Andrew Basha will be out indefinitely for the Medicine Hat Tigers and a potential return is only possible if the team goes on a long playoff run.
- Saturday will mark Rasmus Andersson’s 500th game, with every single one of them coming in a Flames uniform. Only seven blueliners have played more games in the team’s colours, with Mark Giordano leading the way with 949 games.
- Asked whether he would stick with the same lineup he’s used for the last couple games following Thursday’s ugly 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues, Flames head coach Ryan Huska said simply that he was “considering” changes.
- Check back after Saturday’s morning skates in Winnipeg for any updates.
The projected lineup
Forwards
- Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil
- Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
- Kerins-Sharangovich-Pelletier
- Lomberg-Rooney-Duehr
Defence
- Bahl-Andersson
- Hanley-Weegar
- Bean-Pachal
Goalies
- Vladar
- Wolf
The injuries
Connor Zary is out for indefinitely due to a knee injury. Also on injured reserve are Justin Kirkland and Anthony Mantha, who are both lost for the season.
In case you missed it
We asked Flames fans for questions for our weekly Hot Topics feature, and the trade deadline already seems to be front-of-mind for many.