The Calgary Flames (40-27-14) will travel to the City of Angels
to face the Los Angeles Kings (48-24-9) for their final regular-season game.
This game was originally scheduled for Jan. 8, but was postponed
due to the wildfires in Los Angeles.
With the playoff pursuit now over, the Flames are expected
to set shape their future by suiting up Zayne Parekh, Sam Morton, Hunter Brzustewicz
and Aydar Suniev for their debuts against L.A. Full article on these skaters
here.
The Kings on the hand have already qualified for the Stanley
Cup Playoffs and are slated to face the Edmonton Oilers in the first round.
Several of their top players have been listed as day-to-day including defensemen
Drew Doughty, Joel Edmundson, Mikey Anderson, center Anze Kopitar, wings
Quinton Byfield and Tanner Jeannot. It will
not be a surprise to see them not in action, in hopes of being rested and ready
for the post-season.
HEADS 2 HEAD
At even-strength, Calgary’s save percentage is the third-highest
against Los Angeles. They average 30.5 shots on goal per game against the Flames, which is the ninth
in the league. The Kings’ power play is ranked tenth based on the performance
of the last 30 days. With L.A. not being at full strength, expect those numbers
to be different.
Dustin Wolf is expected to suit up for his ninth-consecutive
game and to his relief, his final of an outstanding season.
Meanwhile, the Kings’ save percentage is the fifth-best
against the Flames of all teams. However, Calgary averages a league-low 23
shots on goals per game to L.A. Both those numbers could look also look different with a younger Flames lineup. It will also be interesting to see how the power
play turns out. Before a rare two-power-play-goal night against Vegas on
Tuesday, the Flames were 3-for-20 in the man-advantage.
TALE OF THE TAPE (SKATERS)
TALE OF THE TAPE (GOALIES)
Puck drops at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles tonight at 7:30
MT/9:30 ET.
