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Kicking Off a Road Trip – French Connection – Kuzmenko Rising – Game Day |
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The Calgary Flames are in Montreal today to kick off a three-game road trip that includes stops in Boston and Buffalo throughout the week.
The opposition tonight is a sputtering Montreal Canadiens team that simply can’t find a way to string wins together over anything longer than a few days in a row. Currently sitting in 29th with a 4-7-1 record, Canadiens fans are starting to get impatient when it comes to the team turning the proverbial corner. With Juraj Slavkovski, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson, and Emil Heineman, they have many of their high-end prospects already holding down a roster spot.
Getting that team to play to its abilities consistently has been a whole other challenge for Head Coach Martin St. Louis.
With that said, the Habs present a dangerous opposition for a couple of reasons.
Schedule Loss
Apologies for breaking the fourth wall for a moment.
I remember really getting into hockey when I was stuck on vacation with nothing but a giant Year In Review issue of The Hockey News. They covered just about everything from Most Underrated Depth Forward (Jamie Allison) to Strongest Player (Zdeno Chara).
They also did a player poll. What is the best city to play in?
Almost every answer was Montreal or New York. These days, Vegas is a fairly typical selection. You’re free to reason that one out on your own, but it’s worth noting that the Flames arrived in Montreal yesterday afternoon.
It’s also worth noting that the team put up quite the stinker in Utah, two nights after playing in Vegas—a 5-0 loss.
Return to the Homeland
Speaking of going to Quebec, today will likely be a bit of a personal game for Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Mantha, both of whom hail from the Montreal Greater Area.
The two have been jiving recently. Mantha has two goals and an assist in his last three, and Huberdeau scored a nice one against New Jersey last Friday.
It’s weird to acknowledge, but Huberdeau leads all Flames forwards in scoring this season with eight points in 12 games. Mantha is right behind him with seven.
In wins this season, Jonathan Huberdeau has four goals and three assists for seven points in six games.
In losses? One goal in six games.
Violent Tendencies
The Habs have a weird underdog characteristic that occasionally emerges. Being the young roster that they are, they suffer from the odd night where the opposition attempts to bully them into submission.
That happened on Saturday, their most recent game.
They may still be on edge. Martin Pospisil and Ryan Lomberg have been known to make a questionable hit here and there. Expect Arber Xhekaj to be right there if that happens.
It is worth noting that Elliotte Friedman has indicated that he has heard Craig Conroy and the Flames have pursued a trade for Xhekaj in the past.
On his Drei Up
Scoreless in four games and demoted to the fourth line to start last game, keep an eye on Andrei Kuzmenko. He’s starting to make plays and play with urgency again.
The Flames powerplay almost entirely hinges on him playing well, so (for some) getting back to his ways sooner rather than later is ideal.
For the record, Kuzmenko, on a line with Ryan Lomberg and Kevin Rooney, was a quiet success. Andrei got moved up the lineup as the game went on, but the results were outstanding in a small sample size.
Lomberg-Rooney-Kuzmenko Vs. Edmonton – 5v5
Time on ice: 4:46
Shot attempts for vs against: 11-1
Shots for vs against: 2-0
Scoring chances for vs against: 4-0
The line cased-in Edmonton for over a minute in a half late in the first period on Sunday.
Calgary Flames Projected Lineup
Courtesy of Derek Wills @Fan960Wills
Zary-Kadri-Kuzmenko
Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Mantha
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
Lomberg-Kirkland-Pospisil
Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Miromanov
Barrie-Pachal
Wolf
Vladar
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Monday’s practice lines courtesy of Anthony Martineau @Antho_Martineau
Caufield-Suzuki-Dach
Newhook-Evans-Slafkovsky
Gallagher-Dvorak-Anderson
Heineman-Kapanen-Armia
Matheson-Guhle
Hutson-Savard
Xhekaj-Barron
Montembeault
Primeau
Game time is 5:00. Expect a 5:10 puck drop. Catch it on SNW, TSN2, and RDS.
Stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and the National Hockey League.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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