They did it before, can they do it again? The Flames broke the Anaheim Curse back in October, and they look to turn it into a winning streak tonight.
Setting the stage (
www.calgaryherald.com)
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The Flames knew they wanted to play both netminders on this back-to-back trip to California so they looked at the scenario. David Rittich made his NHL debut at SAP Center at the end of last season, a mop-up performance, but has also played in the building with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, the Flames affiliate. Mike Smith, meanwhile, did the unthinkable by breaking the Honda Center curse. “If you look at Mike Smith’s record in both rinks, they’re pretty good,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. “But he has a really good record in Anaheim. So we look at those type of things … but we knew we were splitting, so looking at Ritty’s comfort level here we gave him the start.”
After being riddled with injuries earlier in the season, the Ducks are the healthiest they’ve been all year. Although wingers Corey Perry and Patrick Eaves are still out, having Ryan Kesler back down the middle gives them a boost. “It felt good,” said the 33-year-old former Vancouver Canucks pest of his return on Wednesday. “A little rusty … as the game went on, I settled in.” Kesler has played 898 NHL games, scoring 245 goals and 306 assists. He was a minus-3 on Wednesday, playing 16:27 of ice time, and had three shots on net.
This is the Flames’ sixth set of back-to-back games this season. Heading into Thursday’s game in San Jose, the Flames were 1-3-0-1 in the first game while their record in the second half of those games is impressive: 4-1-0-0. They’ll have five more back-to-back scenarios this season. Their next is on Jan. 11- 12 in Tampa Bay and Florida, respectively.
The Ducks are in clean-up mode after a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday … Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said RW Corey Perry (knee) should be skating soon … Friday’s game is the second of seven consecutive games against Pacific Division teams before the Ducks’ five-day scheduled bye-week … The Anaheim club needs six more home wins to hit 500 in franchise history (excluding neutral site games).
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a little more Duck talk (
www.anaheimcalling.com)
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1. Start Quickly (And Don’t Blow It This Time) - The Ducks got exactly the start they needed against the Vegas Golden Knights, where they turned early offensive zone pressure into a 1-0 lead just 1:40 into the contest. This time, try not to make that the last time you score in the game. The Calgary Flames will be on the second half of a back-to-back, so ensuring that you get the first goal and keep them on their heels early is essential.
2. John Gibson - Rinse and repeat. John Gibson has been one of the largest reasons the Ducks still have a decent chance in the standings and he’ll need to continue playing Vezina-level hockey until the Ducks offense finds a groove and starts rolling.
3. Kevin Bieksa - Try not to let people walk in alone on your goaltender so they can score easy goals. Thanks.
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lineups (
www.dailyfaceoff.com)
FLAMES
Gaudreau - Monahan - Ferland
Tkachuk - Backlund - Frolik
Bennett - Jankowski - Hathaway
Brouwer - Stajan - Jagr
Giordano - Hamilton
Brodie - Hamonic
Kulak - Stone
Smith
DUCKS
Rakell - Getzlaf - Kase
Ritchie - Henrique - Silfverberg
Cogliano- Kesler- Shaw
Roy - Vermette - Wagner
Lindholm - Manson
Fowler - Bieksa
Beauchemin - Montour
Gibson
That Darn Puppet takes a lesser role today, as he apprentices to a chef of some renown. Duck soup is evidently a delicacy in his native Sweden:
Go Flames