Flame for Thought
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Calgary Flames Prepare To Face Dominant Dallas Stars

By Darcy Hume

Dec 17, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Calgary Flames left wing Mason Raymond (21) and Dallas Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski (33) chase the puck during the third period at the American Airlines Center. Raymond scores a goal. The Flames defeat the Stars 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Calgary Flames left wing Mason Raymond (21) and Dallas Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski (33) chase the puck during the third period at the American Airlines Center. Raymond scores a goal. The Flames defeat the Stars 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Calgary Flames prepare to face the deadly Dallas Stars on the back-end of a back-to-back, and looking very much to return to winning ways to have any chance at making even a wild-card spot.

The Calgary Flames come off of a lackluster performance against the Carolina Hurricanes last night in Raleigh, where they found themselves bested 5-2 in the end.

Related Story: Calgary Flames Fall To Resurgent Carolina Hurricanes

There are only slight Calgary Flames line-up changes for tonight with Deryk Engelland slotting in for Ladislav Smid, who finds himself scratched once more. Karri Ramo remains in the starters net.

It’s hard to blame Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley for this decision; Ramo’s play was not the cause of the Calgary Flames loss last night. Apart from the first goal Ramo was somewhat solid, despite allowing three goals and finding himself replaced midway by Jonas Hiller.

The projected Calgary Flames lines look like this:

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

Deryk Engelland – Dennis Wideman

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Starter: Karri Ramo

Scratches: Ladislav Smid, Brandon Bollig, Mason Raymond

The Dallas Stars lines are somewhat consistent with Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Patrick Sharp forming a formidable trio on their first line; whilst the likes of Jason Spezza, Patrick Eaves and Antti Niemi bring the leadership expected of their experience.

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Patrick Sharp

Valeri Nichushkin – Cody Eakin – Jason Spezza

Antoine Roussel – Mattias Janmark – Ales Hemsky

Colton Sceviour – Vernon Fiddler – Patrick Eaves

*

Alex Goligoski – John Klingberg

Johnny Oduya – Jason Demers

Esa Lindell – Jyrki Jokipakka

*

Starter: Antti Niemi

The Calgary Flames are an impressive 2-0 against the Stars this year; winning 4-3 in a shoot-out on December 1st, then again winning 3-1 on December 17th.

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The Calgary Flames are notorious for playing up to opponents, and after a lackluster performance against the Hurricanes, expect a stronger all-round effort.

After a seemingly deflating loss, Hartley sticks with his line combination in hopes of different results, which seems somewhat surprising

What has been working is the line combination of Sam Bennett, Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik; a wise move being to keep this trio consistently together in the Calgary Flames line-up.

Related Story: Flames Reap Rewards Of Bennett Line Chemistry

An ample balance of skill, grit and determination. This line is the perfect representation of what Flames hockey should be about, and one that will hopefully come up big for the Calgary Flames in Texas.

Puck-drop is at 6:30PM MST.

Next: Calgary Flames Fending Off Interest In Kris Russell

What are your predictions for tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below.

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