The Chicago Blackhawks have yet to play a game without getting at least one point in the standings. Tonight is the perfect time for a trip to Calgary after two consecutive shootout loses to the Wild and the Canucks. The Flames are the worst team in the NHL right now, with only one win and 3 points. This should be a win for the Hawks tonight but they can not afford to phone this one in. If you remember last season the Blackhawks were downright dreadful in their four games in Alberta. They lost all 4 games to the Flames and the Edmonton Oilers by a a combined score of 25-9. Look for Ray Emery to make his second start of the season tonight, his first since the Phoenix Coyotes on January 20th. Emery has had really good success against Calgary in the past. In 7 career starts versus the Flames he is 4-2-1 with a 1.57 GAA, .939 save % and a shutout. Hopefully those trends continue tonight. Don’t look for Dave Bolland to be on the ice tonight. The most logical move will be to bump Marcus Kruger up to center the 2nd line and have both Brandon Bollig and Jamal Mayers on the 4th line Michael Frolik. Tomorrow is an off day, so we could see a call up from Rockford depending on the severity of Bolly’s injury.
I think I could write “The Flames suck” and be done with my entire preview. Calgary is coming off a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, a game that was tied at 3 going into the 3rd period. The Flames have been pretty good on the power play so far this year, scoring 5 goals on 20 chances so far. Their penalty kill, on the other hand has been brutal. On average, they give up a PPG 1 in every 3 chances. Tonight should be a good night Hawks power play unit to rebound after a tough night in Vancouver.
Chicago Blackhawks probable lineup:
Forwards
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Patrick Sharp – Marcus Kruger – Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell – Andrew Shaw – Viktor Stalberg
Brandon Bollig – Jamal Mayers – Michael Frolik
Defensive Pairings
Johnny Oduya – Niklas Hjalmarsson
Sheldon Brookbank – Nick Leddy
Goaltender
Ray Emery 1-0-0, 4.00 GAA, .862 save %, 0 SO
Injuries:
Michael Rozsival (knee) questionable, Daniel Carcillo (knee) OUT, Dave Bolland (lower body) doubtful
Leading Scorers:
P. Kane 11 pts (3 G, 8 A)
M. Hossa 9 pts (5 G, 4 A)
J. Toews 7 pts (4 G, 3 A)
P. Sharp 7 pts (2 G, 5 A)
N. Leddy 5 pts (1 G, 4 A)
Calgary Flames probable lineup:
Fowards
Alex Tanguay – Jarome Iginla – Curtis Glencross
Mike Cammalleri – Mikael Backlund – Lee Stempniak
Jiri Hudler – Roman Cervenka – Matt Stajan
Steve Begin – Blair Jones – Tim Jackman
Defensive Pairings
Jay Bouwmeester – Mark Giordano
T.J. Brodie – Dennis Wideman
Cory Sarich – Chris Butler
Goaltender
Miikka Kiprusoff 1-3-1, 3.76 GAA, .854 save %, 0 SO
Injuries:
Sven Baertschi (hip) OUT, Anton Babchuk (back) OUT
Leading Scorers:
L. Stempniak 5 pts (3 G, 2 A)
A. Tanguay 5 pts (3 G, 2 A)
C. Glencross 5 pts (3 G, 2 A)
J. Hudlder 4 pts (2 G, 2 A)
M. Backlund 3 pts (2 G, 1 A)
 |
STATS |  |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | GP | 5 |
| 6 | W | 1 |
| 0 | L | 3 |
| 2 | OT | 1 |
| 14 | P | 3 |
| 0.875 | P% | 0.300 |
| 3.12 | G/G | 2.80 |
| 2.00 | GA/G | 4.00 |
| 21.2 | PP% | 25.0 |
| 96.8 | PK% | 66.7 |
| 29.0 | S/G | 31.2 |
| 26.2 | SA/G | 26.2 |
| 51.6 | FO% | 49.0 |