*there is a lack of quality photos between these teams in recent years*
Flames: 21-16-3, 45 points, 5th in the Pacific, 9th in the West, 16th in the NHL
Red Wings: 21-10-9, 51 points, 3rd in the Atlantic, 5th in the East, 9th in the NHL
Well, it's been 4 days since the Flames have taken the ice for a game and they're in the exact same position in the standings, which is not bad all things considered. Most of the teams with games in hand have now caught up on the schedule and the Flames are still just 2 points out of a playoff spot as we speak. There's still 42 games left and the Flames are right in the mix of playoff teams in a very tough Western Conference. I don't think anyone could have predicted that, nor do I think anyone could/should be upset at the current state of affairs. It's going to be a slugfest in the 2nd half to get into the playoffs. Colorado and Dallas both have solid winning records in their last 10 games, and nobody ahead of the Flames is losing enough to be overtaken. Even teams like Edmonton have found some competitive swagger again after being the butt of jokes for the first half of the year. The Flames will likely have to go on several more 4 game winning streaks, like the one that was just snapped with a 2-1 loss to a very good team in the New York Islanders, if they want to stay in the race in the 2nd half.
So in tonight comes the Detroit Red Wings to face a very rested Flames squad. So rested in fact that the Flames are finally healthy for the first time since the beginning of the season (and even then nobody was 100%). Backlund and Smid are still likely to be decided today after the morning skate, but all signs point to Backlund returning to the lineup. No moves have been made yet roster-wise, but the odds are on both Potter and Granlund being returned to Adirondack. Mason Raymond is likely to return to the lineup and David Jones looks to be the odd man out after some lackluster play his last few games. No idea yet on who will sit between Diaz or Engelland, but odds are it will be Diaz IF Smid returns, only because of the left handed situation on defense. It's unlikely that Smid gets back in the lineup until his conditioning is at a very high level because the play of the 3rd pairing has been pretty solid of late. Ramo is the confirmed starter for the Flames. Mrazek is the confirmed starter for Detroit.
The Red Wings are fresh off a tightly contested 4-2 victory over Edmonton last night that was closer than they would have liked. Thomas Jurco suffered a back injury in that game and will be out of the lineup tonight against Calgary. It's kind of a funny thing, when I first looked at the lineup for tonight I figured they're likely missing a lot of players because it looked so thin, but nope. That is pretty much the roster they've had all year and are firmly in a playoff spot in the East. You look at their individual production and it isn't world beating. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are good, both with nearly a PPG production level, and there is decent secondary contribution, but it comes by committee. The defense isn't intimidating, but everyone does their job and they play a trademark Babcock strong team defensive game. 3rd in shots against per game, and top 10 in shots for per game. 12th in goals per game (tied with the Flames) and 6th in goals against per game. They match the Flames in 5 on 5 play with a 1.10 F/A ratio. They have the 2nd best power play in the entire league (went 3 for 6 last night). They have the 4th best penalty kill as well. If there was ever any doubt that Mike Babcock is the best coach in the NHL, well look at the numbers above and the roster below and tell me that isn't exceptional. I don't blame the Leafs for wanting to go all in on acquiring him.
Flames
Glencross-Monahan-Colborne
Gaudreau-Jooris-Hudler
Raymond-Backlund-Byron
Bollig-Stajan-Bouma
Giordano-Brodie
Russell-Wideman
Diaz-Engelland
Ramo
Red Wings
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abdelkader
Tatar-Sheahan-Nyquist
Franzen-Helm-Weiss
Miller-Glendening-Andersson
Ericsson-Kronwall
Quincey-DeKeyser
Smith-Ouellet
Mrazek
Go Flames Go!!!