Game day for the Calgary Flames, and an early start to this one in Raleigh, North Carolina as they take on Eric Staal and the dangerous Carolina Hurricanes.
Coming off of a 4-2 win, the Calgary Flames look to continue their winning ways against a scrappy yet talented Hurricanes team.
The Flames will be dressing a somewhat similar line-up, minus one key attribute in Micheal Ferland.
Related Story: Flames Will Be Missing Micheal Ferland In Raleigh
Ferland went down against the Blue Jackets with what is now being called an upper-body injury and find himself listed as day-to-day.
Judging by the morning skate, here’s what the Calgary Flames lines will look like come puck-drop:
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – David Jones
Sam Bennett – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Joe Colborne – Markus Granlund – Jiri Hudler
Lance Bouma – Matt Stajan – Josh Jooris
*
Mark Giordano – T.J. Brodie
Kris Russell – Dougie Hamilton
Ladislav Smid – Dennis Wideman
*
Starter: Karri Ramo
Scratches: Deryk Engelland, Brandon Bollig, Mason Raymond
Lance Bouma is set to return from injury, after suffering a laceration on his leg. Bouma starts on what seems to be the Calgary Flames big energy line centered by veteran Matt Stajan, accompanied by Josh Jooris.
Related Story: Flames Set To Welcome Back Lance Bouma
Ladislav Smid slots in for his 14th game of the year in place of Engelland, while Brandon Bollig sits in favour of the returning Bouma.
With David Jones on the Calgary Flames top line, you would expect a ton of energy from the 31-year-old winger alongside Gaudreau and Monahan. Jones has refined his game nicely while staying healthy since the play-offs last year.
Reports on the Hurricanes starting lineup are as follows:
Kris Versteeg – Eric Staal – Elias Lindholm
Joakim Nordstrom – Jordan Staal – Andrej Nestrasil
Jeff Skinner – Victor Rask – Phillip Di Giuseppe
Nathan Gerbe – Jay McClement – Brad Malone
*
Ron Hainsey – Justin Faulk
John-Michael Liles – Brett Pesce
Noah Hanifin – Jaccob Slavin
*
Starter: Eddie Lack
Tonight will see a battle between the fifth overall pick, Elias Lindholm and the Calgary Flames sixth overall pick, Sean Monahan from the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. A tale of two centers, who will no doubt play their hardest for this late January game.
Expect a tightly contested, fast-paced, hard-hitting game tonight. Carolina is no team to sleep on; I anticipate this will be a great game.
Puck-drop is at 4PM MST.
Next: Flames And Bernier A Perfect Match?
What are your predictions for tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below.