Flames: 32-22-3, 67 points, 3rd in the Pacific, 7th in the West, 14th in NHL.
Wild: 28-21-7, 63 points, 5th in the Central, 10th in the West, 18th in NHL.
I've got good news and bad news.
The bad news is we are facing the absolute hottest team in the league right now. With an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games, the Wild have been better than even the league leading Predators who have gone 8-2 in their last 10. Dubnyk has completely taken over the net starting 14 straight games since being traded and has completely transformed this team. The Wild haven't given up more than 3 goals against since before the all-star break. Their goals against in this hot streak is 1.50. Compare that to their season average of 2.68 GA/G...ridiculous. It's not often you can instantly drop your goals against by over a goal per game for an extended length of time. The offense is operating at pretty much their normal scoring rate of approximately 2.70 GF/G. So no big changes there. It just goes to show what good, confident goaltending can do for a team.
So what could possibly be the good news? Well, several things:
1) The Flames are the 5th hottest team in the league, going 7-3 in their last 10. I know last game wasn't pretty, but they don't ask how, just how many.
2) The Flames have two teams in-between themselves and the Wild now, those being the Sharks and Kings. We are also a full 4 points clear of the Wild
3) These are the teams that the Wild beat on their streak: Vancouver, twice (thank you very much), Chicago, Florida who were struggling at the time, Carolina, Colorado, Edmonton, and of course the Flames. Some of those wins are against decent clubs, but the bulk were against bottom feeders.
4) It took a 1-0 Dubnyk standing on his head shutout win for the Wild to beat us last time, and the one goal they scored was on an uncharacteristic giveaway by Giordano in his own zone. Despite the Wild owning by far the best shot differential in the league, the shots were 32 for Minnesota and 30 for Calgary. It was as even a game as you could get, with one mistake ending up in the back of the net for the Flames.
5) The Wild lost in regulation last game in Vancouver. Dubnyk finally looked human again in his last 2 games, giving up 3 goals each game.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we shouldn't respect Minnesota, because obviously they have some very good players and play a very sound style of game. I'm just saying we shouldn't be afraid of them, especially considering how good the Flames have been of late.
The Flames are scoring in bunches. Even though there were 2 shutouts in the last 10 games, the Flames are still scoring 3.00 GF/G over that time. The PP has been much better lately, scoring nearly a goal every game in that 10 game period, going 7/28 or 25%. Hudler has picked his game up again, scoring 4 points in his last 2 games. Sean Monahan also has 4 points in his last 2 games after a mini scoring slump. Even Johnny Gaudreau, who has struggled mightily of late, has a 4 game point streak. David Jones ALSO has a 4 game point streak, playing his much needed power forward game again. Mark Giordano followed up a couple of pointless outings and a -4 rating in 2 games with a 3 point night and a +2 against Boston.
The goals against in the last 10 is a solid 2.20, including 4-0 and 5-3 blowout losses to the Penguins and Kings. A lot of that has been Hiller, who has stepped up his game and posted a 1.89 GAA and SV% of .926 in 9 games since the all-star break. Again, that includes the 4 GA and 5 GA games listed above. But all the credit shouldn't go to Hiller. Somehow, the Flames PK that was operating at 76% for most of the year has only allowed 1 PP goal against since the all-star break. That's a span of 10 games and 20 power plays, for a PK% of 95%. I don't know what's changed, but I hope they keep it up.
All in all, I'd take the Flames playing their best all-around hockey of the year over a Wild team that's been riding a hot goalie.
Roster Notes: No news for the Flames other than Hiller gets the start. I haven't heard any news on Smid in such a long time that he might be done for the year. Hard to say what's happening with him, but it looks like a serious concussion. The Wild are missing 18 goal man Jason Zucker for likely the rest of the year after a broken clavicle. Matt Cooke is out with a sports hernia for at least another month. Ryan Carter is out for a month with an "upper body" injury. Tomas Vanek missed practice yesterday for maintenance, but is still probable for tonight's game.
Flames
Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler
Bouma-Backlund-Jones
Glencross-Jooris-Raymond
Byron-Stajan-Colborne
Giordano-Brodie
Russell-Wideman
Diaz-Engelland
Hiller
Wild
Pominville-Koivu-Niedereitter
Vanek-Granlund-Parise
Schroeder-Brodziak-Coyle
Fontaine-Haula-Veilleux
Suter-Brodin
Scandella-Spurgeon
Prosser-Dumba
Dubnyk
Go Flames Go!!!
Flames vs. Wild, 7:30 pm, SN1
