The Flames haven't held a 3-1 lead in a seven-game series since they faced the Canucks in 2015. We all know how that turned out.
They need to show up today. They can't count on Cam Talbot bailing them out all the way to the Cup. But they've showed up before, and they can do it again. If they channel their Game 1 selves, watch out.
Will Matthew Tkachuk be in the lineup? If not, watch for Tobi Rieder to take his spot on the second line once again. He's had a terrific showing in the playoffs, great to see. But it would also be great to see Tkachuk back and better than ever. The guy has five career playoff points in 15 games... that needs to be better.
Gaudreau, Monahan, and Lindholm are due to show up, especially the former two. Emphasis on "former"... as in, formerly impactful, perhaps? Gaudreau and Monahan haven't looked this shaky since, well, ever. There's a case to be made that Gaudreau has been the Flames' worst player in the playoffs so far. But we all know that he has the skill to be a huge difference-maker. He's the sleeping giant in this playoff series. If he finally wakes up... well, Dallas can't want that to happen.
What's going on with Ben Bishop? The Stars' #1 has only played in one game in this series, and he didn't look great, giving up four goals. Anton Khudobin has been the Stars' guy in the other two games, but he's still searching for his first win against Calgary in these playoffs. It remains to be seen who'll start Game 4 and whether Bishop's absence has been performance-based or otherwise.
Really impressive in Game 3: Mattias Janmark. He looked speedy and confident with the puck. One of Dallas' most underrated threats coming off a bad season... but there's still a lot of talent there. Look out for him and Denis Gurianov.
I still don't feel comfortable watching the Flames play against a team with Perry and Cogliano in the playoffs. Is it just me? Those two guys still scare the pants off me, maybe more than anyone else on Dallas. Too many bad memories. But here's hoping that Seguin and Benn don't add to the nightmares.
A 3-1 series lead sure would be nice.
Flames proj. lineup:
Lucic - Bennett - Dube
Rieder - Backlund - Mangiapane
Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Rinaldo - Ryan - Quine
Giordano - Brodie
Hanifin - Andersson
Forbort - Gustafsson
Talbot — 99.9% the starter
Stars proj. lineup:
Benn - Seguin - Radulov
Janmark - Pavelski - Gurianov
Hintz - Dickinson - Perry
Cogliano - Faksa -
Comeau
Lindell - Klingberg
Oleksiak - Heiskanen
Sekera - Fedun
Khudobin — 60% the starter