Here's a few of the story lines heading into tonight:
- Calgary hasn't lost in regulation so far this month. However, they also haven't won a game at the Dome since December the 4th either.
- Since being red hot on the road, the bIggy line has been shut down in two straight. Predictably, Calgary has scored just 2 goals during that span. In both contests, Jarome et al managed to significantly out-chance their counterparts but failed to capitalize.
- Vancouver has taken all three games of the season series thus far.
- The Canucks are 3 points up on the Flames in NW Divsion with a game in hand. They have a +10 GD through 36 games (97GF 87GA) while the Flames are still in the red in that regard (106GF 108GA).
- Calgary was the 2nd hottest team in the league behind he Detroit Red Wings over 10 games before the Christmas break.
It looks like Owen Nolan will make his return this evening, no doubt bumping Dustin Boyd to the press-box and taking his place on the Conroy/Tanguay line. Recent practice lines indicate that Smith-Primeau-Nilson will be the 4th line tonight, which would also give Godard the night off.
Secondary scoring remains a concern for this club, although the defensive play (and the PK in particular) seem to be back to reasonably good levels. Regehr and Sarich have slowly turned into the shut-down duo I was expecting when Cory was signed in the summer, while Hale and Aucoin have become a surprisingly effective 3rd pairing. Eriksson/Phaneuf is the chink in the armor - no defender gets scored on as much as Eriksson at ES and Phaneuf is still struggling with defensive assignments now and then. They are the Flames "chaos pairing" that will hopefully remain together only as long as Warrener is out of the line-up.
Prediction - The Flames have to beat the Canucks eventually, right? 3-2 Calgary. Huselius, Lombardi and Phaneuf for Calgary. Pyatt and Naslund for Vancouver.
Go Flames
