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Calgary Flames Daily: Glen Gulutzan up against old friend

By Ramina Shlah |
VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 1: Head coach John Tortorella and assistant coaches Mike Sullivan and Glen Gulutzan (l to r) of the Vancouver Canucks check the facilities before practice Saturday for the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic against the Ottawa Senators at BC Place Stadium March 1, 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 1: Head coach John Tortorella and assistant coaches Mike Sullivan and Glen Gulutzan (l to r) of the Vancouver Canucks check the facilities before practice Saturday for the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic against the Ottawa Senators at BC Place Stadium March 1, 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Calgary Flames are back in action tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Head coaches of both teams have some history together.

The Calgary Flames continue their six-game road trip tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It’ll be the fourth game for the Flames and they’re 2-1-0 so far on this trip. They’ll be looking to improve that and even potentially sit in first place in the Pacific Division tonight.

If all things go well, the Flames tonight could sit atop of their Division. If the Flames win tonight and the LA Kings and Vegas Golden Knights both lose in regulation, then they’ll be first in the Pacific Division (what!?!?).

Tonight, head coach Glen Gulutzan will be going against Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella. Those two have some good history between them, as Gulutzan was one of Tortorella’s assistant coaches in Vancouver.

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Calgary Flames

Via Calgary Sun:

“I don’t want to match wits with him, because he’s a pretty smart guy,” Gulutzan said. “I just want to beat him, I look forward to these things, because I know how good the team is here. It’s always fun to play against guys you really respect. It makes you want to win a little bit more.“It’s kind of a neat game when you get to coach against a guy who helped you.”“As a young coach coming out of Dallas, I got to work with a veteran guy who had won a  Stanley Cup,” Gulutzan said of Tortorella. “Just how he handled the top players, how he handled the room, I haven’t been around a coach who had that good of a command of everything. And that was a big help to me. I learned a lot from him on the tactical side and how they won with the Rangers and in Tampa.“And probably the biggest thing I learned with John, like everybody else that hasn’t got to know him, just what a wonderful family he is and what a great guy he is.”

The Blue Jackets have been doing well themselves. They’re second in the Metropolitan Division with 27 points and they’re quite hot lately, as they’re on a four-game win streak. In their past four games, they’ve allowed one goal or less in three of those games and allowed just two in their win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday evening. In those four games, they even shutout the New York Rangers, who were shutout for the first time this season.

The Calgary Flames are currently on a two-game win streak and they definitely have their work cut out for them tonight.

Flames Tweet of the day

Hockey Tweet of the day

Some links surrounding the Flames

Game Day: Flames coach Gulutzan matches lines — and wits — with Tortorella (Calgary Sun).

Who is Flames’ early-season MVP? ‘A toss-up’ between Johnny and Smitty (Calgary Sun).

Jagr not interested in farewell tour with Flames (NHL.com).

Some links surrounding hockey and the NHL

4 things we learned in the NHL: Blues top line is something special (Sportsnet).

Increase in scoring, young players highlight first quarter of season (NHL.com).

How the Oilers became the NHL’s biggest disappointment (Yahoo Sports).

Acknowledging and analyzing the NHL’s top 5 defensive pairings (Sportsnet).

Next: Three stars of the week Nov. 13-19

That’s all in today’s Flames Daily!

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