Saturday night’s 2-1 win over the LA Kings for the Calgary Flames could have been their best effort all year long. They got strong goaltending, executed the type of gameplan they need to have any shot at success, and snapped LA’s 11 game point streak in the process. It was the second Flames win this season when visiting the Kings, however the team is hoping the script isn’t repeated when it comes to what happens next.
In Calgary’s previous win over the Kings, back on October 21st, they took on the Phoenix Coyotes the very next game. On that occasion, they fell 4-2 at the hands of the ‘Yotes, which started quite the poor stretch for the team. Tonight, the Flames will follow up an impressive win over LA with another meeting with Phoenix, this time at the Scotiabank Saddledome (8 pm, Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960).
Calgary Flames 9-13-4, 6th Pacific Division
It’s the return of Giordano tonight, as the Flames captain will get back in the lineup after missing 18 games with a broken ankle. He was sorely missed, as he was one of the best players in the lineup prior to going down. Giordano had nine points in eight games while averaging 25:03 of ice time per game and will be an instant help to the Calgary blueline. He’ll be paired with Butler tonight, who was very good in Giordano’s absence. Ever since going from a 10-12 minute player to a 20-22 minute guy, Butler has been much better and the team hopes that continues.
Giordano’s return brings a little more balance to the back end, with his pairing and the duo of Brodie and Russell set to take the lion’s share of important minutes. That allows Smid and O’Brien to come in at around 10-12 minutes at even strength, and it frees Smid up to continue his outstanding work on the penalty kill, where he’s logged a ton of minutes. All things considered, it all just makes more sense when Giordano is in. Derek Smith and Chris Breen will be healthy scratches tonight.
Byron will play his second game of the season after doing enough to impress the coaching staff in his season debut on Saturday night. Despite playing just 5:32, Byron picked up his first point of the season, thanks to his assist on Blair Jones’s shorthanded marker in the second period. Baertschi will return after sitting out in LA as a healthy scratch, which means Max Reinhart will sit out against Phoenix.
For the first time since late October, Karri Ramo will start consecutive games in net for the Flames. It’s been the Reto Berra show ever since his recall, with the Swiss product starting 11 of 13 games prior to tonight. For Ramo, it’s just the third time all year long he’s been given an opportunity to put back-to-back games together, so he’s got a chance to make some inroads with the coaching staff. I thought Ramo played very well in LA, making 21 saves to help Calgary to the last second win.
Phoenix Coyotes 16-7-4, 4th Pacific Division
Phoenix is coming off an impressive night in Edmonton yesterday, rolling up the Oilers by a 6-2 score. The Coyotes never trailed in that game, and in the process kept themselves one point ahead of the also victorious Vancouver Canucks for the final Western Conference wildcard spot. Heading into action tonight, Phoenix holds down the final West playoff spot with 36 points, one up on the Canucks with 35.
The top Coyotes line was pretty lethal against the Oilers, combining for three different goals. Ribeiro, Doan, and Moss all finished with two points on the night and have worked well together since being combined. It’s Vrbata who leads the team in scoring with 24 points in 25 games; he had a goal and an assist against Edmonton.
The one to watch in Phoenix is one the blueline, however, with Ekman-Larsson putting together a very impressive season at just 22 years old. The guy they call OEL is fifth on the team in scoring with 19 points in 27 games, and also leads all Coyotes blueliners with a +9 rating. Ekman-Larsson is a shoo-in to wear the three crowns for Sweden at the Olympics in February, and he’ll be suiting up for his country for years and years to come.
Mike Smith made 31 stops in a winning fashion against Edmonton, as we’re not sure if he’ll go tonight or not. If Smith doesn’t go, it’ll be backup Thomas Greiss, who signed as a free agent this summer after starting his NHL career with San Jose. So far this year, Greiss is 3-1-0 with a 2.06 goals against average and a 0.936 save percentage.