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Flames/Blue Jackets Gameday |
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The 19-12-6 Calgary Flames are in Ohio today to play the 18-20-1 Columbus Blue Jackets at 5PM MST.
The two teams hold similar records in their last ten with Calgary at 4-6-0 and Columbus at 3-7-1. The Blue Jackets are amidst a two game losing streak heading into today’s game and sit thirteen points out of a wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. Their only win in the last four games has been to the Philadelphia Flyers— a team currently riding a franchise record 13 game losing streak.
While they may be down-and-out in terms of making the playoffs, there are still some interesting things to keep an eye on in this game.
Catch up on the Laine saga
Flames fans may remember Patrik Laine from his otherworldly taking over of the Flames’ January 14th season opener last year.
With two goals in the game and a truly incredible play to Finnish out the game in overtime, there may be a bit of PTSD seeing the the 6’5” 216lb left wing take to the ice again.
The 23 year old 2nd overall pick from the 2016 NHL Entry Draft has an interesting summer ahead of him. He needs a new contract and is still a restricted free agent. Things get interesting in that he needs to receive a qualifying offer of 7.5 million.
His production simply doesn’t meet the expectations of a salary like that. This year he has 15 points in 20 games. Last year was worse with 21 points in 45 games.
Patrik is entitled to an offer equal to or greater than his current salary this season, but is Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen willing to continue overpaying Laine for the underwhelming offence he provides?
It may be that Laine is once again pricing himself out of town.
Potential Add: Jack Roslovic
Frank Seravalli reported earlier in the season that former Winnipeg Jet Jack Roslovic has been made available.
Many thought that Jack returning to the city he grew up in was a perfect fit when he was packaged with Laine for Pierre Luc Dubois last season.
Things have soured since then. After putting up an impressive 34 points in 48 games last season, Jack had cooled down to the tune of 16 points in 38 games this campaign.
Jack obviously wants to do better than that. He averages 1:21 of powerplay time per game and has zero points to show for it. He also averages a diminutive 12:14 in ice time per game. Suddenly his meagre production is starting to make sense.
With that said, Roslovic centers a talented line. He has Jake Voracek on his left and up-and-comer Alexander Texier on his right.
Be sure to keep an eye on him— he may be a Calgary Flame by the deadline. He is a right shot and has a history playing on line with Matthew Tkachuk.
Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk
Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman
Lucic-Monahan-Dube
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Hanifin-Andersson
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Zadorov-Gudbranson
Markstrom
As hot as it gets
While it may hurt to see the amount they sign for, the first line is suddenly white hot after beating down a listless Blues squad on Monday night.
Tkachuk has thirteen points in his last five games. Gaudreau has 11.
Hammering down on a demoralized Columbus squad would be ideal, but we all know the Flames could show up cold if they start taking their talent for granted. The work needs to be put in still to produce those scoring opportunities.
Adam stays in
With no offence intended to Brad Richardson, it’s nice to see Adam Ruzicka stay in the lineup. The 220lb 6’4” center scored a goal on Monday against the Blues, but also put himself in two situations where he took a big hit.
Sutter pointed out that there is still a lot of improvement needed. Faceoffs were included as a weakness in his game. He is 48.84 in the dot in six games this season. Over that time he has two goals and zero assists.
Enjoy the game,
Trevor Neufeld
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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