Calgary Flames Players Needing Big Games Against Winnipeg Jets
By Luke Ryan
Last time these two teams met, it was the Calgary Flames going home the losing side, downed 3-1. Tonight’s game will need some big performances from a few players to ensure that score-line isn’t repeated.
Obviously, for the Calgary Flames to truly fire, they need Johnny Guadreau, Sean Monahan and T.J. Brodie to be firing all cylinders, but looking at the roster depth, there’s a few other names that come to mind:
Lance Bouma
The biggest piece of news coming out of this game is the imminent return of Lance Bouma, who has been out since October with a broken fibula. The projected line-ups have him placed on either the third or fourth line:
#Flames projected lines vs. #Jets:
— Derek Wills (@Fan960Wills) December 22, 2015
Gaudreau-Monahan-Colborne
Bennett-Backlund-Ferland
Bouma-Stajan-Jones
Raymond-Granlund-Hudler#CGYvsWPG
#Flames lines today: Gaudreau-Monahan-Colborne; Bennett-Backlund-Ferland; Raymond-Granlund-Hudler; Bouma-Stajan-Jones
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) December 22, 2015
The return of the big man is definitely advantageous to the penalty-kill, though in all likelihood, he shouldn’t really be expected to make an instant impact. The injury was pretty severe and he has been limited to the practice rink, thus can be expected to be a little rusty at full NHL speed.
Joe Colborne
Joe hasn’t been getting the rub of late – he’s been given top-line minutes with Gaudreau but it plain doesn’t appear to be working. The goal seems to be to put a larger, physical presence out there, but frankly Colborne hasn’t been playing that big of a game.
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He doesn’t shrink out of the fore-checking he needs to be doing but likewise he doesn’t land as many hits or create as much danger in front of the net as, say, someone like Jiri Hudler. Granted, the Czech man isn’t matching last years’ points totals (then again, name a Calgary Flames player that is), but he certainly could lend a lot alongside Johnny and Sean.
Colborne as a top-line player for the Calgary Flames is a bit of a stretch of the imagination – he’s not the guy you instantly associate with the so-called premier line.
Karri Ramo
Karri Ramo hasn’t done too much wrong this year for the Calgary Flames; he’s one of a few guys that has actually appeared to improve this season. However, he needs to obviously maintain concentration and not leak another three goals like he did in Detroit.
Goaltenders aren’t always to blame – that’s the same with Ramo, but if he is to maintain the Calgary Flames net, he needs to make certain that defensive errors aren’t rewarded too often.
41.0% possession for the #Flames tonight. Scoring chances finish 19-19 but Detroit had the edge 14-12 at even strength. From @HockeyStatsCa.
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) December 21, 2015
If the Calgary Flames are nullified in terms of possession, as they were by Detroit, Ramo will need to make himself big in the crease and ensure that wasted possession isn’t rewarded.
With guys like Blake Wheeler (currently 8th in NHL points) and Bryan Little (19th in NHL goals) waiting to pounce for the Winnipeg Jets, it’s certainly going to fall upon the goaltender to keep the score-line low and the game winnable.
Next: Calgary Flames Need To Fix Powerplay
Is there anyone else, that we forgot to mention, that needs to put in a big game against the Winnipeg Jets? Let us know in the comments section below.