Flames: 22-24-3, 47 points, 6th in Pacific, 12th in West (tied with 2 others), 25th in NHL (tied with 4 other teams).
Blue Jackets: 20-28-5, 45 points, 8th in Metropolitan, 16th in East, 30th in NHL.
Well it looks like the Flames are finally out of their slump following one of their best efforts in months. The Flames dominated the red hot Hurricanes the other night to the tune of a 4-1 victory, with the help of Sean Monahan's 4 point night. They were skating hard, fast, and with determination. The passing was crisp and players were supporting each other well all over the ice. Ramo wasn't tested a lot, but he was as solid as ever. Yeah, it's not been the best year overall, but when this team puts their game together they are incredibly tough to beat.
They'll have to continue that strong team play without T.J. Brodie tonight. There's nothing official, but since he hasn't practiced since taking a puck to the lower thigh/knee area and exiting the game against Carolina, he's extremely doubtful for tonight. It might not be long term, but it could keep Brodie out for a few games. More updates on this situation later. It looks as though Jakub Nakladal will finally make his NHL debut for the Flames tonight. I know we've all been anxious to see what he can do at this level, so here's hoping he at least has a solid showing.
As for the Blue Jackets...yet another lost season. Nothing has quite come together for them all year long, but to be fair, they've had absolutely horrible luck with the goaltending situation. Sergei Bobrovsky has been either out with an injured groin, or nursing a tender groin all year long. For a goalie, that injury severely reduces their effectiveness, yet despite that Goalie-Bob has managed a 2.65 GAA and .911 Sv%. The play of Curtis McElhinney has left a lot to be desired, sporting a pitiful .888 Sv%, resulting in an inflated 3.33 GAA. Tough for Curtis, because before this year he had been a serviceable backup for the BJs. The savior has been Joonas Korpisalo, giving the team a fighting chance to win most nights while both Bobrovsky and McElhinney have been out with injury. The 21 year old Finn looks like he might be a long term solution for their net, and Tortorella has been very vocal in praising his play so far. Last night he made 37 saves against the Vancouver Canucks, letting in just 1 goal and posting a .974 Sv%. In fact, outside of a poor game against Edmonton where his save percentage dipped down to .857 (due to a poor game overall by his team in front of him), he's only had 1 game in his past 8 where his save percentage was below .933. That game you ask? Against the Calgary Flames.
It's the defense and goaltending that's been a sore spot for the Blue Jackets all year, but they score enough goals to win (ranked 14th). The wily veteran Hartnell leads the team in points with just 36 after the departure of Johanssen, but the trade for Saad has worked out well as he has a team leading 19 goals. Let's not forget the breakout years for Cam Atkinson and Boone Jenner, who both have 17 goals on the year. It's perplexing because the personnel for the BJs isn't that terrible, yet their systems are in shambles and their goaltending has cost them plenty of games. Slowly their systems are getting better (IMO anyway), and with Korpisalo's very strong play, this team could play the spoiler role very well down the stretch this year. It would behoove the Flames to not take them lightly, even though they're coming tired on the second half of back to back games on the road.
Roster Notes: As mentioned, Brodie is likely out, but no official word on his status. Jakub Nakladal will likely draw in tonight. Wideman is appealing his suspension, but no changes yet to his 20 game suspension. No changes to the forwards are expected. Ramo is the confirmed starter. For Columbus, both Bobrovsky and McElhinney are injured, making Korpisalo the de facto starter. However, he did play last night so it wouldn't be surprising to see his backup Anton Forsberg get the start. Both David Savard and Dave Clarkson continue to remain on IR.
Flames
Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler
Bennett-Backlund-Frolik
Ferland-Stajan-Jones
Bouma-Colborne-Jooris
Giordano-Hamilton
Russell-Engelland
Smid-Nakladal
Ramo
Blue Jackets
Jenner-Dubinsky-Atkinson
Saad-Wennberg-Foligno
Hartnell-Karlsson-Calvert
Rychel-Campbell-Bourque
Murray-Jones
Johnson-Falk
Tyutin-Prout
Korpisalo
Go Flames Go!!!!!!