The Calgary Flames are back at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday night with a shot at something they still haven’t managed this season: beating the Seattle Kraken.
After getting blanked in Edmonton on Wednesday, Calgary returns home sitting at 5-7-0 with 10 points, while Seattle comes in at 8-4-1 with 17 points. It’s already the third meeting between the clubs, and the Kraken have taken the first two in emphatic fashion, winning 6-1 both times. This is also the final Seattle visit to the Saddledome this season.
Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and QR Calgary.
For the Flames, the projected forward groups through Daily Faceoff have Aydar Suniev with Morgan Frost and Yegor Sharangovich on the top line, followed by Joel Farabee, Mikael Backlund and Matt Coronato. Matvei Gridin is listed with Martin Pospisil and Ryan Strome, while Maxim Tsyplakov, Jonathan Castagna and Adam Klapka are projected as the fourth line. On defense, the expected pairings are Kevin Bahl with Simon Nemec, Jake Middleton with Zach Whitecloud, and Yan Kuznetsov with Zayne Parekh.
Dustin Wolf is expected to start in goal, with rookie Arsenii Sergeev backing him up. The projected extras are Joel Hanley and William Strömgren. The only lineup change expected is Tsyplakov stepping in for Brennan Othmann.
Calgary’s Wednesday night result in Edmonton was ugly on the scoreboard, but the process was not all bad. The Flames were shut out, yet they still put together a couple of strong periods. They’ve also been playing pretty well overall, which makes this home game a chance to reset against an opponent that, all due respect, doesn’t carry the same threat level as the Oilers.
Seattle has been rolling along nicely in its own right. The Kraken are described as scrappy and deep, with contributions coming throughout the lineup, and they’re coming off a dramatic home win over Toronto on Wednesday. They arrive in Calgary looking to clinch the season series and feeling good about where their game is at.
The Kraken’s projected lines have Bobby McMann with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle, Chandler Stephenson with Frederick Gaudreau and Mackie Samoskevich, Kaapo Kakko with Berkly Catton and Shane Wright, and Ben Meyers with Ryan Winterton and Jani Nyman. The blue line projects as Vince Dunn with Adam Larsson, Ryker Evans with Brandon Montour, and Josh Mahura with Cale Fleury.
Philipp Grubauer is projected to start in net, with Joey Daccord backing him up. The expected extras are Curtis Douglas and Ville Ottavainen.
Calgary is without Jonathan Huberdeau, Sam Honzek, Devin Cooley and Brennan Othmann. Seattle is missing Jared McCann, Jacob Melanson and Ryan Lindgren.
Through the numbers, the contrast is clear. The Flames have five wins, a .417 points percentage, a 53.0 xGF%, a 29.0 percent power play and an 83.8 percent penalty kill. Seattle has eight wins, a .654 points percentage, a 41.7 xGF%, a 22.7 percent power play and a 67.6 percent penalty kill.
These two teams meet again next week in Seattle to wrap up their season series.
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Flames Suddenly Have A Crease Problem Dustin Wolf Must Solve
Devin Cooleys sudden absence leaves Calgary with a much different look in goal, and the timing is hardly ideal. The Flames placed the goaltender on injured reserve after he was injured in a game, and Dustin Wolf now steps into the starters role as the club tries to steady itself through an unexpected shakeup in the crease.
To help cover the roster, Calgary also recalled Arseni Sergeev and William Stromgren from the Wranglers, with Stromgren coming up to fill the spot left by injured forward Brennan Othmann, who is day-to-day. The moves give the Flames some short-term depth, but the bigger question is how long they can manage without Cooley and how Wolf handles the added load in the meantime. [Read more 🡒]
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Flames Suddenly Face A Crease And Lineup Problem Before Back To Back
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For now, the goaltending picture points toward Dustin Wolf carrying the load with Sergeev behind him, while the forward group will have to manage without Brennan Othmann. It is the kind of short-term disruption that can ripple through a schedule quickly, especially when the games keep coming and the Flames do not have much time to sort out the next move. [Read more 🡒]