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Moving on from a slugfest in Columbus - Flames & Penguins game day |
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Do we even take time to address yesterday’s matinee mess?
Brush strokes: Terrible effort and the only enjoyable viewing between the whistles. When we call it a slugfest, that's due to both punches being thrown as well as the effort provided to defend off the rush.
Martin Pospisil got into two fights, Blake Coleman called himself out during an interview with the Fan 960 prior to the game for not producing enough offence. Coleman later scored a goal.
Nazem Kadri also scored on what may be the worst defensive sequence by any NHL team all season. The 34-year-old from London, Ontario coasted into the slot unchallenged and picked a corner on Elvis don’t put your stick there Merzlikins.
Joel Hanley will likely miss time after a blatant hit from behind, and Justin Kirkland certainly will. The upstart 28-year-old received a nasty slash in the first period and played only two shifts.
All in all, a game that you want to move on from. The Flames finish out their back-to-back today against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are also finishing out a back-to-back.
The Flames have been a very peaks-and-valleys team in this current era, and with three straight losses and a bit of a low point in terms of effort yesterday, we’re certainly in a valley.
With that said, there is a lot to follow in terms of individual storylines.
Every Injury is an Opportunity
With Justin Kirkland needing time to recover, it appears that Adam Klapka will draw into the lineup. The 24-year-old hulking Czech winger has been practicing with the team since Tuesday, Nov. 19 and will finally get his look.
Klapka is yet to break the scoresheet in five NHL games in 2024-2025. The six-foot-eight power winger has five goals and three assists for eight points in seven AHL games this season with the Wranglers.
You have to imagine Klapka didn’t mind sitting the Columbus game out. Being that big generally means that a guy like Mathieu Olivier is going to be in your ear.
Olivier has no issue beating up tall dudes.
Fumes
It is certainly difficult to peg down how this game will turn out.
On one hand, Pittsburgh is coming off two wins, and the Flames are coming off three losses.
On the other, the Penguins haven’t won more than two games in a row all season. Their roster is certainly slower and older than the Flames, and given both are coming off a back-to-back, maybe that’s enough to tip the odds in favour of the Flames.
To Calgary’s credit, the only time they’ve lost three games in a row this season before this streak, they made it four with a brutal effort against Utah. A 5-1 loss on Mikael Backlund’s 1000th NHL regular season game.
Calgary Flames Projected Lineups
Subject to change. Update at warmups.
Huberdeau-Zary-Coleman
Pospisil-Kadri-Kuzmenko
Sharangovich-Backlund-Coronato
Lomberg-Rooney-Klapka
Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Miromanov
Hanley-Pachal
Vladar
Wolf
Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lineup
Per Dan Kingerski’s projection. @TheDanKingerski
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Drew O’Connor-Evgeni Malkin-Philip Tomasino
Michael Bunting-Blake Lizotte-Anthony Beauvillier
Matt Nieto-Noel Acciari-Kevin Hayes
Matt Grzelcyk-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Jack St. Ivany
Alex Nedeljkovic
Tristan Jarry
King Karl
Erik Karlsson enters today on a three-game point streak. The Landsbro, Sweden product has five assists over that span.
Trust the Vets
Blake Coleman and Rasmus Andersson each have three points in their last three games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, dating back to October 2023.
Puck drop is around 5:10 p.m. MST. Catch the broadcast on CityTV and Sportsnet West. SportsNet Pittsburgh and NHL Network in the States.
Stats courtesy of the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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