Honestly, it's getting really tedious to talk about the Flames at this point -- and, seeing as how it's only three games into the season, that's probably a bad sign. The team has looked, at best, disjointed over the first trifecta of contests against the Oilers and Canucks to kick off the 2016-17 campaign, taking one out of a possible six points from the three matches. Quite simply, if this team wants to make the playoffs, they'll need to learn how to capitalize on weaker teams, and with a difficult schedule coming for the rest of October and much of November, the Flames will be in for a tough test.
The Flames have enjoyed some bright spots up front in new acquisitions Troy Brouwer and Alex Chiasson, as well as in old hands Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik. However, the first line has been nothing short of ghastly thus far, registering a grand total of one goal in the Flames' three consecutive losses to Edmonton (twice!!) and Vancouver. They'll need to be better against Buffalo for the Flames to have a good shot at winning. The Sabres are a clear step up from the Oilers and roughly six steps up from Vancouver, so the Flames could be in for a long night without any offense, barring more own goals by the opposition.
Defense has been a sore spot for the Flames thus far. Though they improved in the 2-1 shootout loss to Vancouver, Calgary's top-3 of Mark Giordano, TJ Brodie, and Dougie Hamilton has not impressed thus far into the young 2016-17 season. Of course, there is all the time in the world left to fix potential rust and chemistry issues. One defenseman who hasn't looked out of step: Jyrki Jokipakka. Arguably the Flames' MVP so far, Jokipakka has looked at times like a young Niklas Hjalmarsson on the back-end this season. If only it weren't for that looming expansion draft...
The Flames will likely return to Brian Elliott between the pipes on Monday, though there's a possibility that Chad Johnson will take the reins against his former team. Johnson was sparkling against the Canucks on Hockey Night in Canada, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him start at home against Buffalo; however, all signs point to Glen Gulutzan handing the job back to Brian Elliott. If he starts, the former St. Louis Blue will need to improve significantly from his first two appearances for the Flames to have any hope of coming away from this tilt with a win.
This game will be broadcast on Sportsnet Flames -- channel 302 with your Shaw package -- with Rick Ball and Kelly Hrudey managing the play-by-play. Listen anywhere on Sportsnet 960 the Fan, or on the Flames' website at nhl.com/flames -- as always, Derek Wills and Peter Loubardias will be there for every shot, save, hit, fight, and goal.
PROJECTED FLAMES LINE-UP
13 Gaudreau - 23 Monahan - 10 Versteeg
19 Tkachuk - 93 Bennett - 36 Brouwer
79 Ferland - 11 Backlund - 67 Frolik
17 Bouma - 18 Stajan - 39 Chiasson
5 Giordano - 7 Brodie
3 Jokipakka - 27 Hamilton
6 Wideman - 29 Engelland
31 Johnson
1 Elliott
PROJECTED SABRES LINE-UP
26 Moulson - 90 O'Reilly - 21 Okposo
63 Ennis - 22 Larsson - 12 Gionta
82 Foligno - 23 Reinhart - 28 Girgensons
44 Deslauriers - 27 Grant - 52 Fasching
77 Kulikov - 55 Ristolainen
29 McCabe - 47 Bogosian
4 Gorges - 6 Franson
31 Nilsson
40 Lehner