Back to the ice, and hopefully back into the win column. The Flames cruise into Dallas tonight to take on the Stars.
Some Stars news (from
www.defendingbigd.com)
Quote:
The Dallas Stars have been less than successful on road trips this season and Wednesday night’s tilt against the Colorado Avalanche was no exception. Thankfully, with Thursday night off for Thanksgiving, the Stars are back at home on Black Friday for a fire sale on the Calgary Flames.
This will be the second of three games against the Flames this season. The first, played in Calgary, was a 2-1 victory for the Stars, and the third is set for February.
And I don’t know if you’ve checked recently, but Dallas’ own John Klingberg is tied for first among NHL defensemen in scoring with 20 points.
Goalies: Mike McKenna was reassigned to the AHL yesterday, which should mean that Kari Lehtonen will be available for today’s game. Could be a start for him, as Bishop played the two back-to-back earlier this week.
Honka: Was recalled again. Still not expecting him to play.
Ahead of tonight’s game will be the Jere Lehtinen jersey retirement ceremony, starting at 6:30, so be sure to arrive at the arena early.
|
And a little bit of Flames news (from
www.calgarysun.com)
Quote:
If you’re a believer in this barometer, there’s good news for Flames fans and not-so-good news for supporters of the Stars. There’s an old theory that almost all of the squads in a playoff position on American Thanksgiving will still be there come spring, and the Flames (12-8-1) hit the holiday in the third spot in the Pacific Division. The Stars (11-10-1) are sitting 13th in the Western Conference. A glass-half-full sort would point out that their 23 points puts them in a logjam for eighth, although they’ve played more games than the five other teams with that same total.
Both of these squads were shut out in their last outing — the Flames shooting blanks in a 1-0 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets and the Stars on the wrong end of a 3-0 score against the Avalanche. Don’t expect a barn-burner on Black Friday. The boys from the Big D are allowing just 1.8 goals per game at home, the lowest mark in the league, plus the first meeting of the season was a low-scoring affair, with Alex Radulov cashing in on a third-period power-play to lift the Stars to a 2-1 victory at the Saddledome.
The Stars will raise Jere Lehtinen’s No. 26 jersey to the rafters during a pre-game ceremony. Lehtinen spent 14 seasons in Dallas, collecting 514 career points but earning more praise for his defensive handiwork. The Finnish winger was a three-time winner of the Selke Trophy and a key piece of a Stanley Cup-winning squad in 1999. Other off-limits numbers for the Stars include No. 7 (Neal Broten), No. 8 (Bill Goldsworthy), No. 9 (Mike Modano) and No. 19 (Bill Masterton).
The Flames have triumphed in four of their past five trips to Dallas, but this current crew of Stars are hot at home — they’re 8-2-0 so far at American Airlines Center … Stars D John Klingberg is tied for top spot in the NHL’s scoring race among defencemen, with 20 points … The hosts are hopeful C Martin Hanzal, a spectator for the past two tilts due to a hand injury, will be ready to return against the Flames.
|
Lineups, unconfirmed and subject to the Gulutzan Blend-o-Matic (courtesy of
www.dailyfaceoff.com)
Flames
Gaudreau - Monahan - Ferland
Tkachuk - Backlund - Frolik
Versteeg - Jankowski - Jagr
Bennett - F Hamilton - Brouwer
Giordano - D Hamilton
Brodie - Hamonic
Kulak - Stone
Smith
Stars
Janmark - Benn - Radulov
Shore - Seguin - Spezza
Roussel - Faksa - Pitlick
Elie - Smith - Ritchie
Lindell - Klingberg
Hamhuis - Pateryn
Oleksiak - Johns
Bishop
It's Black Friday in the States. And That Darn Puppet knows that's it's better to light a single candle than curse the darkness. He's also known for his sense of overkill:
Go Flames