It’s the second-last game of the 2020-21 regular season! The Calgary Flames (25-26-3, 53 points) face the Vancouver Canucks (22-28-4, 48 points) in a game that can marginally impact Calgary’s draft positioning!
The puck drops just after 2 p.m. MT and you can catch the action on Sportsnet West or on Sportsnet 960 The Fan. Have a late lunch or put the game on in the background as you pretend to work!
For a view from the other side, visit the fine folks over at Canucks Army!
The Flames
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk
Dube – Backlund – Mangaipane
Lucic – Ryan – Leivo
Nordstrom – Gawdin – Ritchie
Giordano – Tanev
Nesterov – Andersson
Valimaki – Stone
There’s no morning skate, so much of the lineup is an educated guess – we’ll update as more info becomes available. The starting goalie is probably either Jacob Markstrom or Louis Domingue. The active extras are Byron Froese, Buddy Robinson and Oliver Kylington. We’ll see which new faces get in tonight; Adam Ruzicka, Connor Mackey and Dominik Simon were brought up on emergency recalls on Sunday but returned to the AHL/taxi roster on Monday.
The Flames have been below Bettman .500 since losing to Ottawa on Mar. 24. But they can get back to that level for the first time in 20 games with a victory tonight. At this point, all they have to shoot for are moral victories, and trying to lay a foundation for training camp in the fall.
The Canucks
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Hoglander – Miller – Boeser
Pearson – Horvat – Highmore
Michaelis – Graovac – Gadjovich
Vesey – Boyd – MacEwen
Edler – Hamonic
Hughes – Schmidt
Juolevi – Chatfield
We’re expecting that Thatcher Demko starts for the Canucks, backed up by Braden Holtby. Their active extras are Tyler Motte, Jack Rathbone and Tyler Myers. Jayce Hawryluk played just one shift in the third period on Sunday after blocking a shot.
This is Vancouver’s third game in four days, and their 11th game over the month of May due to a COVID-19 outbreak rearranging their schedule and demolishing their roster. That’s a lot of hockey and results aside – they’re 3-6-1 in their first 10 May games – respect to the Canucks for surviving it. Including their Apr. 18 return against Toronto, the Canucks are 6-10-1 after their outbreak.
The numbers
Calgary
Vancouver
Wins
25
22
Points (%)
53 (.491)
48 (.444)
Adjusted Corsi For
53.0%
45.6%
Expected Goals
53.3%
45.3%
Power Play
18.8%
17.7%
Penalty Kill
79.9%
79.2%
Talkin’ lottery
The Flames cannot finish lower than Buffalo, Anaheim, New Jersey, Detroit, Columbus, San Jose, Los Angeles, Ottawa or Vancouver. They cannot finish higher than, among non-playoff teams, Philadelphia, Dallas or the NY Rangers.
As of right now, the Flames will head into the draft lottery with the 11th-best odds at a lottery pick. With a win, they’ll pass Arizona and Chicago and have the 13th-best odds.
Unfit to play report
The Flames are without Noah Hanifin and Sean Monahan.
The Canucks are without Micheal Ferland, Justin Bailey, Elias Pettersson, Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Brandon Sutter (Darryl’s nephew).
When last we met
The Flames are 6-2-1 against Vancouver so far this season. After tonight, they meet tomorrow to close out the season.
Know thy enemy
Your recommended Twitter follows for tonight’s contest: