The break is over and the Flames are back in action tonight, no doubt hoping to carry over some of the magic they found against the Greasers in Rexall last Saturday.
The heady glow emanating from the most recent road win may be partially blotting out the ugly fact that the Flames were flat-as-roadkill during their two previous away games and are still one of the worst road teams in the league.
Which are not insignificant issues heading into Minnesota tonight. While the Wild have dropped four in a row in their barn recently, they still have one of the more impressive home records in the league (17-5-3). Additionally, Marian Gaborik has finally returned from injury and is scoring like a healthy Marian Gaborik usually does. Calgary, meanwhile, is still without Jarome Iginla, although it's expected that Chuck Kobasew will be returning to the fold tonight (woop-di-doo!).
David Moss and Eric Godard will also be wearing Flames against the Wild. Moss has been impressive since his call-up several weeks ago and is probably a few more good games away from cementing a roster spot on the big club for good. Godard, meantime, will be around to police the acitivities of Derek Boogaard. Im sure Playfair doesn't want the Sakatchewan Sasquatach leveling Huselius or Lombardi like he did to Ales Hemsky a couple of games ago...
As far as the Wild go, they'll be without Manny Fernandez tonight thanks to an injury he suffered in their last contest. Nicklas Backstrom has been solid in his 14 outings so far this season, so don't expect a big advantage there. Not that the Flames are in the habit of taking advantage of crappy back-ups anyways. In addition, Minnesota will be without the services of Todd White and Kurtis Foster, while the likes of Kim Johnsson and Keith Carney will be returning to action this evening.
Let's go with a Kipper special tonight. He's relatively well-rested and he's been great for most of January. 3-1 Flames. Tanguay (2) and Giordano for Calgary. Gaborik for Minnesota.
Go Flames!
