Calgary Flames Game Preview

CALGARY FLAMES (19-19-5 43 points) vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS (23-16-2 48 points) GAME #44

PREVIEW:

The Flames come into tonight’s game after an emotional 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. The game was one of milestones for the Flames as before the game Olli Jokinen was honored for playing 1,000 career games (January 1^st vs. Nashville), Lance Bouma scored his first NHL goal and most notably, Jarome Iginla scored his 500^th career goal. Iginla became the 42^nd player in NHL history to reach the milestone on a night many Flames fans won’t soon forget. The Flames will look to carry that emotion into tonight’s game as they host the Devils down at the dome. The Devils have turned things around this season after missing the playoffs last year and currently sit 6^th in the east and are 6-3-1 in their last ten. The Devils are once again led by ageless Patrick Elias who currently leads the team with 38 points (14g, 24a). Devils’ captain Zach Parise (14g-21a-35p) has started to come on as of late after missing all but 13 games last season with a serious knee injury. I was fortunate enough to go to the game against the Wild on Saturday night and thought the Flames played a complete game. Much will have to be the same tonight against the Devils if the Flames look to start their climb into a playoff spot. With the Flames decimated by injuries, all 4 lines and 3 defense pairings are going to have to contribute, playing more than ever with a defense first mentality. Another strong performance from Miikka Kiprusoff never hurts but that is to be expected as he has been the best and most consistent Flame all season. Mark Giordano will once again sit out tonight but don’t be surprise to see him back on Thursday night when the Flames host the Ducks. Much like Iggy’s 500^th, a Flames victory tonight probably won’t be pretty but 2 points in the standings is all that matters at the end of the day.

PROJECTED LINES:

Flames:                                                                                    Devils:

1-GLENCROSS-JOKINEN-IGINLA                                          1-PARISE-HENRIQUE-KOVALCHUK

2-STEMPNIAK-BACKLUND-BOUMA                                       2-SYKORA-ELIAS-ZUBRUS

3-BYRON-JONES-COMEAU                                                   3-PALMIERI-ZALEWSKI-CLARKSON

4-KOSTOPOULOS-HORAK-JACKMAN                                   4-BOULTON-CARTER-TEDENBY

1-BOUWMEESTER-BUTLER                                                    1-LARSSON-SALVADOR

2-BRODIE-SARICH                                                                   2-TALLINDER-FAYNE

3-WILSON-BABCHUK                                                                3-FOSTER-TAORMINA

1-KIPRUSOFF                                                                           1-BRODEUR

2-IRVING                                                                                   2-HEDBURG

Extra- MORRISON                                                                   Extra- JANSSEN

INJURIES:

Flames: LW- Rene Bourque (Suspension 3/5), LW- Alex Tanguay (Upper Body- IR), C- David Moss (Lower Body-IR), C- Matt Stajan (Ankle-IR), D- Mark Gioradno (Hamstring-IR), D- Scott Hannan (Upper Body-IR), D- Derek Smith (Ankle-IR), G- Henrik Karlsson (Knee-IR)

Devils: C- Travis Zajac (Achilles- Day to Day), C- Jacob Josefson (Clavicle Injury-IR), D- Andy Greene (Ankle Injury-IR), D- Anton Volchenkov (Lower Body Injury-IR)

STATS:

Flames

Devils

PP-

Flames: 16.9% (18^th)

Devils: 14.1% (26^th)

PK-

Flames: 82.4% (17^th)

Devils: 91.2% (1^st)

WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS:

DID YOU KNOW?

• Iginla was only the 15^th player in NHL history to score 500 goals with one team, joining Jean Béliveau, Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux, Stan Mikita, Mike Modano, Gilbert Perreault, Maurice Richard, Joe Sakic, Bryan Trottier and Steve Yzerman.
• It doesn’t matter if it’s at home or on the road for Iginla, he has proved to be incredibly consistent, scoring 253 at home and 247 on the road.
• Lee Stempniak will play his 500^th career game tonight, while defensemen Jay Bouwmeester will play in his 550^th consecutive game.
• Patrick Elias played his 1,000^th NHL game on Friday against the Florida Panthers, contributing a goal and 2 assists.
• Adam Henrique sits 2^nd in league rookie scoring with 32 points. He sits 3 points back of Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who is currently out 3-4 weeks with a shoulder injury.
• The Devils lead the league in both shorthanded goals for (9) and against (12).
• The Devils finished the first half of this season with 48 points which bests last year’s first half record by 26 points.