After a few days off, the Flames are looking to make it 2 in a row for the first time this season against the Mighty Ducks tonight. Calgary won their last game 3-2 over the Kings, while the Ducks were defeated by LA Tuesday night, 3-1. Anaheim is currently tied for last in the Pacific Division with 7 points, while Calgary at 9 points is only in front of the struggling Oilers in the Northwest. Some other stats:
Calgary -
10 GP: 24 GF, 30 GA,
PP - 10.1%, 28th overall
PK - 76.9%, 28th overall
Anaheim -
9 GP: 25 GF, 29 GA
PP - 12.2%, 26th overall
PK - 75%, 30th overall
Relatively even match-up...according to these stats (which, due to the relatively small sample of games, are rather useless).
Anaheim is currently being lead in points by the likes of Rob Niedermayer (2,6 - 8), Teemu Selanne (5,2 - 7) and Joffrey Lupul (2,5 - 7). Ryan Getzlaf had 4 points in 8 games and was a plus 5 before injuring his shoulder. Both he and Sergei Federov are sidelined due to injuries. JS Giguere will be returning to the Ducks tonight after sitting out a couple of games. Before his injury, Giguere was 2-2-1 with a 2.95 GAA and .902 SP.
Calgary points leaders include Roman Hamrlik (1,7 - 8), Jarome Iginla (2,5 - 7) and Tony Amonte (3,3 - 6). Chuck Kobasew leads the team in goals with 4. Significant injuries for the Flames include Robyn Regehr and Matthew Lombardi. Regehr is expected back the first week of November, while Lombardi is sidelined indefinately. Kiprusoff will play his 11th straight game. After a rocky start he has lowered his GAA to 2.79 and increased his SP to .900.
If you want to check out stats and compare them yourself...go to the nhl website here
Qualitative Stuff:
- By all indications, the Flames are starting to regroup after their painful, loss-filled start. PP, PK and GA have all dramatically improved since their opening roadtrip. In addition, Jarome Iginla has recently shown signs of returning to his usual dominating form. Hopefully coming off a 1 point, 5 shot night against the Kings will further spark him against the Ducks this evening.
Anaheim, converesly, have been hampered by injury woes and are struggling of late. They have lost 4 of their last 5. Keep an eye on Teemu Selanne who seems to be enjoying a resurgence now that he's back with the Ducks.
Conclusion-
Overall, Calgary needs to string back to back wins together and take advantage of a Ducks team mired in a slump. And, of course, we are all waiting for Iginla to have a break-out, multiple goal performance...will this be the night??
