Colorado Avalanche (39-24-3) at Calgary Flames (30-24-10)
When: Friday, 7 p.m. MT, Scotiabank Saddledome
TV: Sportsnet West Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan
Odds: Avalanche -177, Flames +147
The buzz
It’s not getting any easier for the Calgary Flames.
After falling in a shootout to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night, the margins for error are as tight as can be as they enter their final 18 games of the regular season.
Tied with the Canucks in the Western Conference’s second wild card position and only two points up on both the Utah Hockey Club and St. Louis Blues, the Flames have their work cut out for them if they’re going to earn an invite to the post-season dance.
And they may have to do it without their captain.
Mikael Backlund left Wednesday’s loss to the Canucks and didn’t return because of an upper-body injury, and while he was seen walking around Winsport on Thursday as his teammates practised, there was no update.
With the Avalanche in town, the timing couldn’t be much worse.
As the Flames’ top option for shutting down opposing centres, Backlund would have been playing some heavy minutes against Nathan MacKinnon, who happens to be leading the NHL in points, with 102.
He’d be a handful even with Backlund in the lineup, but the job will be a lot harder for the Flames without their captain.
The Avalanche are coming in hot, too, having gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and adding Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle at the trade deadline.
The quote
“We’ve just got to shut down their top line. I know they added some depth pieces, but when they were in here a few weeks ago, their top line basically killed us. Focus on shutting them down and kind of go from there.”
— Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf on how to beat the Avalanche
The news
- Connor Zary was suspended for two games for what the NHL’s Department of Player Safety described as a “late, high, retaliatory hit” on Canucks defenceman Elias Pettersson. He’ll be out of the lineup on Friday against the Avalanche and Monday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs
- Check in after morning skate for more updates
The projected lineup
Forwards
Huberdeau-Kadri-Coronato
Farabee- Rooney -Coleman
Sharangovich-Frost-Pospisil
Lomberg-?-Klapka
Defence
Bahl-Andersson
Hanley-Weegar
Bean-Pachal
Goalies
Wolf
Vladar
The injuries
Justin Kirkland (knee) and Anthony Mantha (knee) are both out for the season. Mikael Backlund (upper-body) left Wednesday’s game with an upper-body injury and was getting evaluations done on Thursday.