After splitting a pair of matchups in the Mile High City, Tuesday’s showdown at the Saddledome will determine the winner of the regular-season series between these Western Conference powers. If they meet again, it will be in the third round of the playoffs.
POINTS LEADERS
FLAMES
Johnny Gaudreau — 65 GP, 30 G, 60 A, 90 PTS, +49
Matthew Tkachuk — 65 GP, 32 G, 50 A, 82 PTS, +42
Elias Lindholm — 65 GP, 34 G, 34 A, 68 PTS, +49
AVALANCHE
Nazem Kadri — 63 GP, 26 G, 55 A, 81 PTS, +17
Mikko Rantanen — 63 GP, 33 G, 45 A, 78 PTS, +32
Cale Makar — 62 GP, 24 G, 49 A, 73 PTS, +38
As much as their last outing was a measuring stick, simply because it was a Battle of Alberta clash, up next for the Calgary Flames is a true test of where their game is at as they march toward the Stanley Cup playoffs.
When the Central Division-leading Colorado Avalanche visit Calgary on Tuesday, it's a chance for the Pacific Division-leading Flames to see how they stack up against the only team perched above them in the Western Conference.
The Avalanche arrive after dropping a 3-2 overtime affair on the road against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, a game in which they led 2-1 with 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Colorado has lost two of three, but isn't fretting.
With 65 games in the books and 17 to go, the Calgary Flames are well into the final quarter of the season. Calgary is in the driver’s seat to clinch the Pacific Division and will enter the 2022 postseason with higher expectations than they’ve had in years.
What has also become clear is how dominant the trio of Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, and Andrew Mangiapane can be. In 329:28 together, that line leads the league with a 63.0% possession rate and sits second with a 64.4% share of expected goals.
If/when Calgary clinches the division, I’m curious to see how Sutter manages his roster. The head coach will have the opportunity to strategically rest players, which is a nice luxury to have, but he also needs to strike a balance of keeping the team playing at a high level.
On the skater side, both Gaudreau and Lindholm sit +49, which has them chasing down Joe Mullen’s franchise record of +51 set during the 1988-89 season.
Last edited by Cheese; 03-29-2022 at 10:54 AM.
The Following 65 Users Say Thank You to Cheese For This Useful Post:
Part of me is almost positive Markstrom gets the nod but another part of me wonders if Sutter goes with Vladar so that the juggernaut Avs don’t get a look at Markstrom this regular season. 4-1 flames
Part of me is almost positive Markstrom gets the nod but another part of me wonders if Sutter goes with Vladar so that the juggernaut Avs don’t get a look at Markstrom this regular season. 4-1 flames
Johnny
Mangiapane
Andersson
Tkachuk
I hope we see Vladar start tonight and another 6 times this year.
The Following User Says Thank You to Vansmack For This Useful Post:
__________________ "There will be a short outage tonight sometime between 11:00PM and 1:00AM as network upgrades are performed. Please do not panic and overthrow society. Thank you."
The Following User Says Thank You to Redliner For This Useful Post:
I would love to see a Flames win tonight against this team. Avs have always been one of those teams for me that I didn't like or dislike. Now I'm starting to dislike these guys.
One thing I've noticed this season is the Avalanche media is really annoying especially Adrian Dater. One time I saw him whining about Markstrom getting more Vezina recognition than Kuemper saying he's not that good. I can't remember if it was him or someone else but they were whining about Sutter getting more Jack Adams recognition than Bednar.
Then the other day there was another reporter whining about non-calls on whoever the Avs were playing. They have the most PPO in the league. They should be the last team whining about non-calls.
I'll be tuning into the Avs broadcast tonight, as they have by far the most homer announcers in the league. The dejection in their voices when the Flames either score or make a strong play is pure comedy and worth listening to.
Should be a good one after a couple strong games recently from the Flames. Teams like the Avs are the bar the team should strive to benchmark themselves with, not gutter trash like the Oilers.
The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to Huntingwhale For This Useful Post:
Avs are coming off a loss, so this is gonna be a tough one. Thankfully we're at home, so hopefully the sea of red will get into it early and give the team a boost. They'll need it against this Avs team.
I wonder if Monahan gets back in, or he continues being stapled to the bench. I don’t think there should be any lineup changes, but I do worry about this becoming a distraction in the locker room.
Remember over the last 4 years how Backlund has been able to elevate and give confidence to younger players that were struggling with 2 way play, playing them on his LW?
I wonder if Monahan gets back in, or he continues being stapled to the bench. I don’t think there should be any lineup changes, but I do worry about this becoming a distraction in the locker room.
I'm sure he'll get back in at some point. Monahan wears an A for this team at points, Sutter has talked about his amazing attitude. He's not going to Frolik this up, chances of this becoming a distraction are low, all pieces of this team seem to be rowing in the right direction.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Cleveland Steam Whistle For This Useful Post:
COLORADO AVALANCHE AT CALGARY FLAMES 7pm TV: SNW - RADIO SN960
