Brief preview today.
The Wild have plummeted back to earth since losing to the Flames, although guys like Demitra and Gaborik are back in the line-up now. There's also a chance that Backstrom will back in net tonight.
It's difficult to guess which Flames team will take to the ice tonight - the one that gave up 3 first period goals to Minnesota in their first meeting, or the one that scored 5 unanswered ones the next 2 periods...
Kipper is still just okay in net (lowest PK SV% in the league), Regehr continues to struggle and now Warrener is out of the line-up with a throat infection. Meaning the 3rd pairing will be Hale-Eriksson this evening. On the road. Sigh.
Things to bet on:
- Phanuef will play more than 30 minutes.
- Iginla will get a least 2 points.
- The Flames will surrender a PP goal.
- Godard will get about 4 minutes of ice.
Perhaps it's hang-over from last game, but Im not optimistic. Playing the Wild in Minnesota is always a tough slog, and now the Flames have their terrible PK AND a couple of chaos defenders to worry about.
Prediction - Minny 3, Flames 2.
