FLAMES (5-4-0) vs. PENGUINS (4-1-2)
7 p.m. | TV: Sportsnet West | RADIO: Sportsnet 960 The FAN
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PLAYERS TO WATCH
Flames - Mikael Backlund
To a man inside the Flames dressing room, they admit they were not at their best, collectively, Tuesday in a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens. However, one Calgary forward had a remarkably good night considering how the game played out, and was the reason the Flames got back within a goal with a better third-period push. Backlund played north of 17 minutes, had two helpers, three shots, a team-high five attempts, and was 9-5 (64%) in the faceoff circle. Above all, his 5-on-5 play was among the best of anyone on the ice, out-chancing the opposition 8-2 (80%) in even-strength situations. Backlund now has five points in his last five games, and as Matthew Tkachuk described it during his post-game interview, No. 11 was one of the players "laying it out there" to help Flames claw back from a multi-goal deficit.
Penguins - Sidney Crosby
Indeed, the 'Greatest Player' debate is once again the talk of the National Hockey League, and rightfully so after a showing like that. Crosby entered Tuesday's contest against the Oilers without a goal on his 2018-19 resume. A notoriously slow start for one of the greatest ever to lace 'em up, yes, but prior to puck drop, there was an overwhelming sentiment that something Crosby-esque was going to go down in the rare, head-to-head match with fellow generational talent, Connor McDavid. Sure enough, it did. Crosby scored twice - including his highlight-reel overtime winner - to lift the Penguins to a madly entertaining 6-5 victory up in the Alberta capital. The goal? Teammate Patric Hornqvist, who himself had a pair in the barn-burning effort, called it the "nicest goal of his career," according to PittsburghPenguins.com. One on one with Edmonton's Ryan Strome, he turned the flat-footed Oiler inside out before cutting across the goalmouth and hoisting home the backhand from an impossible angle. Just another day at the office for No. 87.
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We get to see how the Flames stack up against one of the better teams in the NHL. Also watching Sid work his magic is always a treat to see, just hopefully he has none tonight.
Flames need to come out firing on all cylinders tonight or else they'll get buried real fast against the Pens.
GFG!
https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/5-th...ns/c-301262034