The Calgary Flames are back home Sunday night, and the assignment could hardly be tougher. After a brief road swing that ended with one win and one loss, the Flames return to face the Carolina Hurricanes, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, at 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and QR Calgary.
It’s Calgary’s first look at an Eastern Conference opponent this season, and Carolina arrives with serious momentum. The Hurricanes are 7-1-1 for 15 points, riding a seven-game winning streak even with the baggage of travel and a second game in as many days. For a Flames team still searching for its footing early on, that’s a real test.
Ryan Huska’s lineup had a few changes after the Vegas loss, and the morning skate stayed optional. Devin Cooley is set to start in net, with Dustin Wolf backing him up. Joel Hanley and Maxim Tsyplakov appear to be the extras.
Projected lines have Aydar Suniev centering Morgan Frost and Yegor Sharangovich on the top unit, with Joel Farabee, Mikael Backlund and Matt Coronato forming what might be the most interesting trio in the lineup. That second line has some history.
Backlund has clicked with Farabee and Coronato at different points, and putting the three together for a real run could be worth watching. The rest of the forward group projects as Matvei Gridin with Martin Pospisil and Ryan Strome, plus Brennan Othmann, Jonathan Castagna and Adam Klapka.
On the blue line, Calgary’s pairings project as Kevin Bahl with Simon Nemec, Jake Middleton with Zach Whitecloud, and Yan Kuznetsov with Zayne Parekh.
Carolina’s projected group is loaded with familiar names and plenty of depth. William Carrier, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov are listed together on the top line, followed by Bradly Nadeau, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake.
Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Jankowski and Jordan Martinook make up the third line, while Eric Robinson, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Felix Unger Sorum round it out. The defense projects as Jaccob Slavin with Jalen Chatfield, K’Andre Miller with Sean Walker, and Shayne Gostisbehere with Mike Reilly.
Brandon Bussi is projected to start after backing up Saturday in Winnipeg, with Pyotr Kochetkov behind him. Nicolas Deslauriers and Juuso Valimaki were the healthy extras on Saturday, though Rod Brind’Amour could still make changes before puck drop.
The Hurricanes’ staying power comes from the usual mix: depth, structure and enough high-end talent to stress opponents all over the ice. Even with injuries and departures, they’ve kept rolling. That makes them a demanding opponent for any home team, and a particularly sharp one for a Calgary group trying to stabilize its season.
There’s also a small piece of history attached to the night. Carolina will be the first NHL team to play its final game at the Saddledome. After Sunday, the Hurricanes’ next trip to Calgary will be to Scotia Place.
Calgary remains without Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Honzek. Carolina is missing Seth Jarvis, Alexander Nikishin, Jordan Staal and Taylor Hall.
This is the first meeting between the teams this season, with the rematch set for Mar. 12 in Raleigh.
In Other News...
Wranglers Face A Tough Chance To Seize Control In Bakersfield
The Wranglers hit Bakersfield for the third game of a road-heavy week, and the timing is not ideal. Calgary is trying to keep pace in a season series that carries its own edge because of the parent-club rivalry, while the Condors are waiting with fresher legs after not playing since last weekend. It sets up a useful measuring-stick game for a Wranglers group that has already been through a busy stretch and now has to manage another one away from home.
Ben Jones has been one of the names to watch for Calgary during this run, while Bakersfield brings plenty of threat on the other side in Quinn Hutson. The matchup will be available on AHLtv and Wranglers Radio, giving fans a chance to follow along as the clubs continue sorting out the series, but the bigger question for Calgary is whether this is the kind of road stop where it can grab control before the week gets away from it. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Castagna Is Giving The Flames A Decision To Make
Jonathan Castagnas quick climb has given the Flames something useful to sort through. After appearing in four NHL games, he is settling into the lineup with a growing list of responsibilities, and coach Ryan Huska has liked what he has seen from the young forwards work ethic and defensive awareness. For a player still getting his footing at this level, that kind of trust matters, especially on a team trying to figure out which young pieces can be leaned on.
Castagnas recent run has also had a personal side, with his parents in the crowd for his latest game in Vegas as he continues to rack up experience. He is expected to keep getting opportunities in the games ahead, which only sharpens the question for Calgary: how much more can he handle now, and how soon does his steady play force a bigger conversation? [Read more 🡒]
Flames Have One Line Earning Trust During This Rough Start
Seven games into a rough start, the Flames have at least found one group that has held up better than the rest. Their fourth line has done the kind of steady, unspectacular work coaches usually trust in a difficult stretch, with Adam Klapka a constant presence on the unit. While Calgarys overall five-on-five goal differential sits at minus-16, that line has limited the damage to minus-1, a small but meaningful sign that there is still a pocket of reliability on a team searching for more of it.
After a recent practice, Klapka sounded comfortable with the way the line is coming together, and that matters for a group that is often asked to provide energy, structure and a clean shift. The broader question for the Flames is whether this kind of chemistry can survive the inevitable lineup shuffling that comes when a team is trying to climb out of an early hole, especially with roles around the lineup still in flux. For now, though, this is one of the few combinations Calgary can point to and trust. [Read more 🡒]