[GDT] Flames vs. Oilers, 7pm, SN

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Flames: 16-16-2, 34 points, 5th in Pacific, 11th in West, 23rd in NHL.

Oilers: 15-18-3, 33 points, 6th in Pacific, 12th in West, 25th in NHL.


I hope everyone had a happy and peaceful holiday. Welcome back.

When last we left our intrepid Flames, they had just won on home ice against the Jets in convincing fashion, restoring the faith after dropping 2 in a row on the road. The Flames are looking for a new record 11th straight win on home ice and are still one of the hottest teams in the league going 8-2-0 over their last 10. Only Washington is playing better at the moment (8-1-1). We can only hope that the Oilers are a little tired after playing to an overtime loss in Vancouver last night. On the other hand, the Flames have not played since the 22nd and may be a little rusty, whereas the Oilers had last night to shake the rust off.

The season series is tied at 1 win a piece, as the Oilers caught the Flames when they were playing their worst hockey in several years the first time around, and McDavid managed to score a couple goals. The next game the Flames were still rather sloppy, but managed to score with 9 seconds left to take a 5-4 win in Edmonton, capitalizing on poor goaltending from Talbot. Tonight, both teams look much more well-rounded, but are not without their warts. The Flames still rank 2nd last in goals against, despite some improved play from Ramo in December. Ramo has just 3 games in his last 10 with a sub-.900 Sv%, with two of those being .897 and .895. Since the abysmal first 5 games of the season where Ramo had a Sv% of .871 and a GAA over 4, he's steadily dropped those numbers to a respectable .907 and 2.74. Part of that has been improved defensive play. The Flames rank 17th in shots against per game, and the overall quality of those shots has steadily decreased in the month of December. The penalty kill has been steadily improving as well, but still ranks dead last at 73.9%. However, they've been catching up to the rest of the league as at one time they were a full 7% behind every other team, but now are just 1.8% behind the next worst team. The power play has been a sore spot for both teams (Oilers ranked 23rd), but more so for the Flames, ranking dead last at 11.4%. It's a big hole to climb out of, but the Flames have started scoring on the power play again, adding to their already solid 5 on 5 game.

For the Oilers, they've finally found a center than can help out Taylor Hall defensively, and that seems to be Leon Draisaitl. The large German center has taken a big stride with his skating this year, and now looks like the quality top 5 pick he was slated as, scoring 30 points in 26 games, and sporting a +13 on a team with a collective -18. He's dragged Hall along for the ride defensively, as Hall also has a +13 somehow. Hall is putting up points as well, scoring 39, ranking him 4th in league scoring behind the big 3 of Kane, Benn, and Seguin. Only a fool would overlook his offensive talents, but he can still be exploited in his own zone. Along with Teddy Purcell, who is clearly the weak link yet has 23 points, the Oilers have a legitimate top line that can put the puck in the net.

The problem for the Oilers has been secondary scoring. Without McDavid, they have struggled to find another line that can regularly score. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 23 points, but after him and the top 3 mentioned earlier, nobody has more than 13 points, with notables like Eberle and Pouliot struggling to find offense this year. McDavid still has 12 points and hasn't played in almost a couple months. That's a serious lack of depth for a club that has consistently struggled to have depth over the years. They're also still one of the poorer defensive clubs in the league, ranking 26th in GA/G and 27th in SA/G. So of course the answer is to give top pairing minutes to Darnell Nurse and Justin Schultz. Over the past 4 games, Nurse has averaged around 24 minutes a game, had 0 points, and had a net -2. Schultz had over 27 minutes last night against Vancouver and somehow stayed even on the plus/minus while adding no points. In fact, the offensive specialist has just 4 points on the season. The Oilers are still far from being a strong defensive team in the NHL.

Despite all this, the Oilers are still closer to a playoff spot at this point in the season than they have been in years. You would have to think that when McDavid returns he will add instant secondary offense to this team, making them a dangerous team to play against for the rest of the season. Add in his chemistry with Yakupov (who has been utterly useless without McDavid), and the Oilers all of a sudden are starting to resemble a decent team. However, there is still a long way to go for a franchise that dug themselves into a seemingly bottomless pit of despair and suckiness.

Who's hot for the Flames?
-Johnny Gaudreau has 10 goals and 16 points over his last 10 games.
-T.J. Brodie has 10 points in his last 10 games.
-Mark Giordano has 5 points over his last 3 games.

Who's hot for the Oilers?
-Despite not scoring last game, Taylor Hall still has 14 points over his last 10 games.
-Draisaitl also has 12 points in his last 10 games.


Roster Notes: Lines for the Flames are from yesterday's practice. Outside of the Monahan line, don't get too caught up on the line rankings. Lines 2-4 could all have equal ice time throughout the game. No word on the starting goalie, but you would assume Ramo given his recent play. Nilsson is likely the starter for the Oilers since they are playing back-to-back on the road and Talbot got his bell rung off the post last night. The Oilers are without the services of Rob Klinkhammer, Oscar Klefbom, and the surprising Brandon Davidson with undisclosed injuries. Connor McDavid and Nail Yakupov are on long term IR. Michael Frolik is the only current injury for the Flames.


Flames
Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler
Ferland-Backlund-Colborne
Bouma-Stajan-Jones
Bennett-Granlund-Raymond

Giordano-Brodie
Russell-Hamilton
Engelland-Wideman

Ramo

Oilers
Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell
Pouliot-RNH-Eberle
Hendricks-Letestu-Korpikoski
Gazdic-Lander-Pakarinen

Nurse-Schultz
Sekera-Fayne
Nikitin-Gryba

Nilsson



Go Flames Go!!!!!!

[heep223]

CFF, I find your write-ups excellent and really enjoy reading them. They're thoughtful and very well written. Thank you.

Draisaitl has 30 points? Wow that is impressive.

Should be a battle at the dome tonight. Flames win 5-3. GFG

[Mass_nerder]

Going to my first game of the season tonight! Think it's going to be a good one.
I just hope johnny didn't eat too many skittles over the Christmas break.

[Puppet Guy]

This is also how Mini-Me carved the Christmas turkey:

(Honestly, I felt dirty just printing up...that logo. Need to wash the printer out with oven cleaner)

Spoiler!

Go Flames

[Gaudfather]

May the burning ring of fire rage hot tonite as the Flames fuel themselves on Oil grease!

[jlh2640]

Suck it Oilers !

[2ArmBands]

The knock off McDavid jerseys will be plentiful at the Dome again tonight I'm sure. Do not let a repeat of last time happen! Man that was painful

[TBone290]

Go flames! Keep it rolling at home

[Lumby Lager]

I am really looking forward to a very humiliating loss for the northern no good's! Six of us headed to a Flames fan friendly bar in the Okanagan to round out a fantastic holiday season. It would be great for Gaudreau to have a 3 point night and for Hall to get kept off the score sheet! GFG!!!

[Vinny01]

This is one tough game to get tickets for. No CP luck as it seems no one is unloading their seats.

I think the Flames get their revenge on home ice from that brutal loss in October. The power play will score again and Johnny keeps his red hot December going

[Reggie Dunlop]

It is widely acknowledged that Calgary Flames are more proficient at the sport of hockey than Edmonton Oilers. Tonight's contest result should certainly favour the Flames.

[foshizzle11]

This should be a good tilt tonight and I like the lineup posted on the flames website. I think it's a bit different than what is posted in the OP.

http://flames.nhl.com/club/m_news.htm?id=794452

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

[HarryH93]

I remember last year I was at this game (on the 27th) and the Flames were up 3-0 at one point. An oilers fan sitting near by got up, took off his jersey, threw it on the ice and left. A bunch of us Flames fans got up and applauded him, and the Oilers fans started heckling him. It was a good time

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by HarryH93

I remember last year I was at this game (on the 27th) and the Flames were up 3-0 at one point. An oilers fan sitting near by got up, took off his jersey, threw it on the ice and left. A bunch of us Flames fans got up and applauded him, and the Oilers fans started heckling him. It was a good time

That would have been a real treat to see.

[AcGold]

It's gonna take some serious puck luck and Ramo suckitude for us to lose this one.

[Robo]

Hopefully the flames realise that a team 1 point behind them in the standins won't be an automatic 2 points. Hoping to see a full 60 min game tonight

[FBI]

Would love to see Ferland-Bennett-Backlund..
Was excited about that line in a previous game but it didn't actually happen.

[Dion]

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Robo

Hopefully the flames realise that a team 1 point behind them in the standins won't be an automatic 2 points. Hoping to see a full 60 min game tonight

What a robotic post, ha. "Let's hope that the desired hockey team understands the need to retrieve two points from tonight's contest".

[Dion]

Reality is setting in for fans at HF Oilers....

Originally Posted by GreatMcKeith
This team will get ragdolled tonight. Hall gets hurt, Nilsson pulls a Roy, etc.

No reason to watch, this team showed us last night that they don't have what it takes.

Originally Posted by GreatMcKeith
They couldn't take advantage of a beaten up Canucks team that isn't very good at home. You think they end Calgary's 10 game home winning streak?

Originally Posted byMcPuritania
Gaudreau is going to wreck us tonight. Can't wait to see his stupid goblin face contorted in a yell after he torches us. The fellas better have some salve ready for their scorched anuses after this game. Oilers might also need to bring in a specialist for the medical team. Someone who specializes in heart transplants would be a good option.

Fully expecting Eberle to be weak, and lazy all night while contributing nothing to the offense, or be weak, and lazy all night then scoring a goal, prompting people to ask for crow to be eaten, while he goes pointless in the next six games. Also fully expecting Nuge to get murdered by whatever line he goes up against tonight.

Hall, Drai, as usual you guys better play like Hart nominees if we have any chance of winning.