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Barrie Returns – Underperformers Sit – Taking on 1st Place Washington |
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After splitting their weekend back-to-back against the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets, the Calgary Flames return to the Scotiabank Saddledome to face off against the red-hot Washington Capitals for their fourth game in six days.
With seven games in 12 days, we’re in for an intense flurry of Flames hockey before arriving at the Feb. 8-23 Four Nations break.
Let’s dive into storylines to keep an eye out for tonight.
At a Glance
Calgary Flames (24-17-7, 55 pts) vs Washington Capitals (33-11-5, 71 pts)
Last Ten: Calgary (6-4-0) Washington (7-1-2)
Time: 7:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
TV: Sportsnet West, TVA, MNMT
Good Thing the Flames Can Score
The resurgence of the Washington Capitals should be both intimidating and encouraging.
Grabbing Pierre Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, and Logan Thompson out of the Pacific Division, as well as Jakob Chychrun from Ottawa, General Manager Chris Patrick's offseason was considered irrational by "experts" and fans alike.
It’s difficult to find critics lately.
The Capitals are a fearsome group. They’re running the best defence in the NHL, allowing just six goals in their last seven games. Washington enters tonight in first place in the NHL with a points percentage of .724.
Luckily for the Flames, they’re bringing a secret weapon.
The Hero’s Rise
Tyson Barrie will re-enter the lineup tonight after a two and a half month break from NHL action.
The veteran offensive blueliner appears hungry to prove himself. He scored a goal on a conditioning stint with the AHL Wranglers and his confidence appeared infectious. Calgary went 5/7 on the power play with Barrie in the lineup.
Barrie finished his two-game tune up with two primary assists and a goal. All three came on the powerplay.
Washington is running the hottest PK in the NHL, going 28-for-31 and 90.3% in 12 January games.
Calgary Flames Projected Lineup
Courtesy of Pat Steinberg. @Fan960Steinberg
Huberdeau-Kadri-Pelletier
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
Pospisil-Sharangovich-Kuzmenko
Lomberg-Bishop-Klapka
Hanley-Andersson
Bean-Weegar
Barrie-Pachal
Wolf
Vladar
Eventuality
Defenceman Daniil Miromanov and center Kevin Rooney will eat popcorn tonight as Adam Klapka and Barrie draw into the lineup.
The more common question around this move is: "Why did it take this long?"
The NHL is a strange league. Teams will put a liability on the ice over extended stretches to let players work through mental and physical slumps. That sort of trust costs teams vital points in the standings.
Miromanov has played just four of Calgary's eleven January games and clearly isn't 100%.
Rooney doesn't look entirely healthy either. The pending UFA is a -7 in ten games this month. You simply can't have a fourth line serving as a defensive weak point.
Move Over Yegor
One of Washington’s secret weapons this season has been the emergence of the six-foot-six, 225-pound Alexei Protas.
Hailing from Vitebsk, Belorussia, Protas’ 21 goals and 21 assists in 49 games this year far surpassed his fellow countryman, Yegor Sharangovich; who has a mere nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 41 games.
Belarus has two other players to dress for an NHL game this season. Defencemen Vladislak Kolyachonok in Utah and Daniil Misyul in New Jersey.
Stitching It Up
Daniel Vladar deserves fair critisism for allowing five goals against on Sunday. Based on shot metrics, Money Puck had an expected goals against of 2.066 for Vladar on the night.
We all have off nights, but the Flames have now allowed nine goals against in their last two games.
The Calgary Kid
If Washington being an offensive juggernaught wasn’t enough, Calgary native Logan Thompson gets the start tonight after signing a six-year, 35.1 million dollar extension on Monday.
Thompson hasn’t lost a start since Dec. 17, going 10-0-0 over that time. He also brings it when he’s in Calgary.
With all of this said, anything can happen in professional hockey. Washington is seven days into a Western Conference road trip. That and the team and being in Vancouver on a Saturday with two days off may provide an oasis of hope.
Washington Capitals Projected Lineup
Courtesy of nhl.com staff.
Alex Ovechkin -- Dylan Strome -- Connor McMichael
Aliaksei Protas -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Tom Wilson
Taylor Raddysh -- Lars Eller -- Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime -- Nic Dowd -- Andrew Mangiapane
Rasmus Sandin -- John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun -- Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary -- Matt Roy
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. MST.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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