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Judson Rempel The Hockey Writers

Published on Saturday, March 11, 2017

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Preview: Red-Hot Flames Look to Extend Streak Against Jets

The Winnipeg Jets are going to be in for a tough game tonight as they battle a Calgary Flames squad that has won their past eight games.

The Flames come into Winnipeg with points in their past 10 games, including those eight straight wins. The Jets will need to watch out for Johnny Gaudreau, who has 13 points during the Flames’ winning streak. He’s already had success against the Jets in the past, racking up nine points in seven career games against them.

The Jets have scored two goals in both of their games against the Flames this season but allowed six in one game and none in the other.  It’s been up and down for Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Before allowing five goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he had only allowed four in the previous three games.

Calgary Flames at Winnipeg Jets

MTS Centre – 6:00 p.m. CST

Broadcast channels – SN

2016-17 Season Series:

Dec. 9 – Winnipeg (2) at Calgary (6)

Jan. 9 – Calgary (0) at Winnipeg (2)

Winnipeg Jets: 30-32-6 – 66 Points

Home Record: 16-17-1

Hot Players: Patrik Laine

Key Injuries: Tyler Myers, Ondrej Pavelec, Ben Chiarot

Projected Lines:

Forwards

Nikolaj Ehlers – Mark Scheifele – Blake Wheeler

Mathieu Perreault – Bryan Little – Patrik Laine

Andrew Copp – Adam Lowry – Joel Armia

Shawn Matthias – Nic Petan – Marko Dano

Defense

Josh Morrissey – Jacob Trouba

Mark Stuart – Dustin Byfuglien

Julian Melchiori – Paul Postma

Starting Goaltender

Connor Hellebuyck (expected)

Calgary Flames: 37-26-4 – 78 Points

Away Record: 18-12-4

Hot Players: Johnny Gaudreau

Key Injuries: Ladislav Smid, Curtis Lazar, Michael Stone

Projected Lines:

Forwards

Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Micheal Ferland

Kris Versteeg – Sam Bennett – Troy Brouwer

Lance Bouma – Matt Stajan – Alex Chiasson

Defense

Mark Giordano – Dougie Hamilton

T.J. Brodie – Deryk Engelland

Matt Bartkowski – Dennis Wideman

Starting Goaltender

Brian Elliott (expected)

Game Notes

1) The Flames have pulled themselves into a great playoff position, sitting in the first wild card spot and just one point behind the Edmonton Oilers. With points in 10 straight games, and wins in eight straight, the Flames now have a 94% chance of making the playoffs, up from well below 50% in mid-February.

2) The Jets haven’t had much luck against the Pacific Division this season. They are 5-10-1 and are 0-6-0 against the three teams holding a divisional playoff spot: the San José Sharks, Edmonton Oilers, and the Anaheim Ducks. This finishes off a six-game home stand for the Jets.

3) The Flames have been rolling, but injuries may start to take their toll. Their newest acquisition, Curtis Lazar, is injured, along with Ladislav Smid and Michael Stone. The top two lines have been great, so they should still be okay.

Injuries are hitting the Jets just as hard. They are missing three of their top six defencemen, which is hitting them hard for depth. Julian Melchiori has been called up and will be in the lineup.

Catch the game tonight at 6:00 PM local time, and comment below with your predictions for the final score.


Tagged in this article

Johnny Gaudreau Connor Hellebuyck Nic Petan Patrik Laine Calgary Flames Winnipeg Jets National Hockey League
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