The Flyers have collected 3 points so far on their road trip in which they defeated the Vancouver Canucks and lost in OT to the Seattle Kraken. Next up is the 14-16-5 Calgary Flames. The Flyers currently sit at 3rd place in the Metropolitain Division, which has been extremely tight up to this point. One win or loss can see a team fall or rise substantially. So far, the Flyers have risen to the task and will look to keep it up in Calgary tonight at 8pm EST.
Inconsistency
The season hasn’t been to kind to the Calgary Flames. Sitting at 2 games under .500 and in 6th place in the Pacific Division, the story of the Flames has been inconsistency. The Flames have only won 4 of their last 10 games and within that stretch suffered a 4-game losing streak. After winning 3 in a row during this stretch they most recently dropped their last 2 games to the Los Angeles Kings and Seattle Kraken. It has to be frustrating for Calgary fans to know the Flames can look great one night and look bad the next. For any winning team, consistency is the key, and it has clearly been a struggle for Calgary this season. The Flames will be looking to avoid another losing streak tonight at home as they try to get back to .500 on the year.
Jacob Markstrom
If there is a bright spot on the Flames this season, it has been goaltender Jacob Markstrom. The Flame has a 2.71 GAA and a .904 SV% on the year and has been Calgary’s go to netminder all season. He should get the start tonight again with an 8-10-2 record. Markstrom may not be mentioned along the likes of the NHL’s top goalies, but he has been solid, and the Flyers will have to solve him early and get on the board quick. Like most goalies, you don’t want to let Markstrom get comfortable. Looking at his recent starts you will see Markstrom has been giving his team a chance to win. Against the powerhouse that is the Vancouver Canucks, he let up 3 goals in a 4-3 loss. In his last time on the ice, he only surrendered 2 to the Kraken. On 12/21, Markstrom shut out the Ducks and before that only let up 1 against the Florida Panthers. The one blemish in his 5-game stretch was a loss to the Kings in which he saw 4 pucks get by him. Long story short, the Flyers shouldn’t discount the Calgary netminder.
Flames’ Offense
If you look at the Flames scoring this season, you won’t find that one player that has cemented himself as the far and away top goal scorer. The Flames deploy 7 players with 7 or more goals thus far. Blake Coleman leads the way with 12 on the year and Nazem Kadri has been the playmaker he’s always been with a team leading 16 assists. One player to look out for that may fly under the radar I think is Yegor Sharangovich. The 25-year-old Center is on a 3-game point streak with an assist in each. In his las t 12 games dating back to December 7th, Sharangovich has 11 points. Look for him to increase that total tonight. But all in all, the Flames offense has to pick it up if they wish to contend with such a rough division. They currently sit at 24th in GPG with 2.94. couple that with an average of 3.23 goals allowed and you can see why they sit in 6th in the Pacific.
Flames’ Penalty Kill
We all know the Flyers struggle mightily on the power play and unfortunately those struggles may stick around for tonight’s game. The Flames are 7th in PK% at 83.6%. At least even with the Flyers powerplay being so abysmal, we can all still rely on the power KILL.
Keeping up with the Metro
As mentioned, the Metro has been very tight all season. The Flyers sit in 3rd with 43 points, tied with the Islanders for points and 1 behind Carolina. The New York Rangers are the clear top dogs of the division but everyone else, besides the Blue Jackets, are vying for the playoffs. Tonight’s game holds another valuable 2 points for the Flyers to grab against a below .500 team. These are the games you can’t throw away if you want to make the postseason.
Flyers Standouts
TK and Travis have been very good this season. Konecny leads the team in goals at 17 while the d-man, Sanheim leads the team in assists at 21. Both these players, especially Sanheim, were looked to take big steps forward this year and help carry this team through the rebuild. So far, they are doing that and more. Look for them to jump start the Flyers early.
Who Needs to Get it Going?
For Flyers fans, its pretty obvious who needs to get back in the swing of things. Cam Atkinson has not scored since November 11th. The Flyers are playing well despite his inefficiencies on offense, but scoring depth is extremely important to any playoff contending team. The Flyers could very much use a hot Cam Atkinson right now with how tough the Metro has been. As a veteran who has gone through ups and downs before, you have to think Atkinson will figure it out. Hopefully tonight’s the night. A scoring Cam Atkinson can be a huge development for this Flyers team.
Flyers Flames Prediction
The Flyers, coming off an overtime defeat at the hands of the Kraken and the second game the road trip, are listed as underdogs in tonight’s matchup. It makes sense as the Flyers aren’t as rested as the Flames. However, the Flyers are the better team. Calgary also does not boast a great home record, 8-7-1. The Flyers on the other hand have played very well away from the Wells Fargo Center with a 11-4-4 record. After giving up the lead in Seattle, I think the Flyers are eager to finish this one out in Calgary.
Flyers 4 Flames 2
Notes/Odds
- Flyers +118 ML
- Flames -142 ML
- Over Under 5.5 goals
- Flames won 4 of last 10
- Flyers won 6 of last 10
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