Boston Bruins (16-13-3) at Calgary Flames (15-11-5)
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m., Scotiabank Saddledome
TV: Sportsnet West. Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan
Odds: Flames +110, Bruins -130
The buzz
Both the Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins are coming off two of their best performances of the season and are looking to keep the momentum alive.
For the Flames, their 3-0 shutout win over the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers was greeted with relief. They’d seemingly gone cold over the previous two weeks, and they needed to respond to last Thursday’s embarrassing 8-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
They did, but the schedule doesn’t get any easier on Tuesday against a Bruins team that isn’t quite the powerhouse it was a couple years ago but made a statement with their 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
Only four teams have scored fewer than the 82 goals the Bruins have managed this season, which is a little odd considering the offensive talent they’ve got on their roster, including former Flames centre Elias Lindholm. The hope is that the Canucks game will open the floodgates.
The quote
“They booed me last time, but I like boos.”
— Bruins defenceman Nikita Zadorov, who spent parts of three seasons with the Flames before being traded last year, on the reaction he’s expecting from Calgary fans on Tuesday night.
The news
- Dan Vladar returned to practice on Monday morning after missing a couple of days because of an injury. That meant Devin Cooley was reassigned to the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL. The expectation should still be that Dustin Wolf will get a second straight start between the pipes for the Flames after shutting out the Florida Panthers on Saturday evening.
- Ryan Huska was impressed with Joel Hanley’s performance alongside MacKenzie Weegar against the Panthers and hinted that it was enough to keep him in the lineup for Tuesday’s game.
- Check back for more updates after Tuesday’s morning skate.
The projected lineup
Forwards
Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
Sharangovich-Zary-Pelletier
Lomberg-Rooney-Duehr
Defence
Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Hanley
Bean-Pachal
Goalies
Wolf
Vladar
The injuries
Justin Kirkland (knee), Anthony Mantha (knee)
In case you missed it
- Jakob Pelletier’s play on the penalty-kill has it looking like he might stick around in the NHL with the Flames.
- Dan Vladar had a tough outing against the Lightning, but he’s putting it behind him.