Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche
Flames: 50-25-7, 107 points, first in Pacific
Avalanche: 38-30-14, 90 points, second wild card
in Western Conference
Season series: CGY 3-0-0; COL 0-2-1
THE SKINNY
The Calgary Flames will play the Colorado Avalanche in what
each expects will be a series full of speed and scoring opportunities in the
Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"It's been good games every time we have played them
(in the regular season)," Flames defenseman Travis
Hamonic said. "I would imagine this will be a fast-paced
series."
The Flames won each of the three games against the Avalanche
this season, outscoring them 14-10, including scoring 11 goals in the final two
games.
It is the first time the teams have met in the postseason.
Mark Giordano,
who finished second in the NHL in scoring among defensemen with 74 points (17
goals, 57 assists), led Calgary with seven points (one goal, six assists) and
forward Elias
Lindholm scored in each of the three games against
Colorado. David Rittich started
two games for the Flames, allowing five goals on 61 shots (.918 save
percentage). Veteran Mike Smith made 21
saves in a 6-5 victory Nov. 1.
Forward Gabriel
Landeskog led Colorado with four points (one goal, three
assists) in three games against Calgary, and Nathan
MacKinnon had two goals. Semyon
Varlamov started each of the three games, going 0-2-1 with a
4.44 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage.
The last time the Flames finished first in the Western
Conference was 1988-89 (won Stanley Cup).
GAME BREAKERS
Flames: Giordano controls the game at both ends
for Calgary. The defenseman plays 24:14 per game, almost three minutes more
than any teammate (TJ Brodie,
21:28), and the Flames have registered 371 more shots than they have allowed
when he is on the ice, the greatest differential on the team.
Avalanche: Last season, MacKinnon was a finalist
for the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player. This season, he has arguably
been better. He has an NHL career-high 99 points (41 goals, 58 assists), 12
more than Mikko
Rantanen. Nobody on the Avalanche plays more (22:05) or drives play
more effectively; his SAT relative is second on the team at 4.92 and the
Avalanche have registered 161 more shots than they have allowed when he is on
the ice.
GOALTENDING
Flames: The Flames have alternated goalies
throughout the season, but Smith is the experienced goalie and will likely get
the nod to start the series. Although his season numbers are not gaudy
(23-16-2, 2.73 GAA and .898 save percentage in 42 appearances), he has been
better late in the season, with a 1.94 GAA and .916 save percentage in his
final 11 starts. David Rittich went 27-9-5 with a 2.61 GAA and .911 save
percentage in 45 games.
Avalanche: Philipp
Grubauer has taken over the starting job with a red-hot final
two months of the season. Since Feb. 23, Grubauer has gone 9-2-2 with a .956
save percentage as the Avalanche clawed their way into the final wild card.
Varlamov has played at least 49 regular-season games in six of the past eight
seasons but has played in seven playoff games since joining Colorado for the
2011-12 season.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
Flames: Calgary is the only team in the
postseason to have five players with at least 70 points: Johnny
Gaudreau (99), Sean Monahan (82),
Lindholm (78), Matthew
Tkachuk (77) and Giordano. Its plus-62 goal differential leads
the Western Conference and is second in the NHL to the Tampa Bay Lightning
(plus-103). The Flames allow an NHL-low 28.1 shots per game.
Avalanche: Colorado's top line of MacKinnon,
Rantanen and Landeskog has accounted for 106 of the team's 258 goals (41.1
percent). The Avalanche are a slow-starting team. They have scored 59 goals in
the first period but have scored 93 in the second period and 103 in the third.
Colorado is 16-8-6 since Feb. 6, its 38 points in that span tied for sixth-best
in the NHL. The Avalanche win 48.3 percent of their faceoffs, which ranks 26th
in the NHL.
INJURY REPORT
Flames: Monahan did not play in the final
regular-season game Saturday because of an illness but is expected to play in
Game 1. Tkachuk also missed the final game for maintenance and will play in
Game 1.
Avalanche: Rantanen missed the final eight games
of the regular season with an upper-body injury. He has been skating in a
non-contact jersey this week and could be ready for Game 1. Center Vladislav
Kamenev hasn't played since Dec. 8 because of shoulder surgery but has started
skating recently.
WILL WIN IF …
Flames: They get proper goaltending. If Smith or
Rittich get in a groove, the Flames are going to be hard to beat. They have too
many offensive weapons to be undone by anything other than sub-par goaltending.
Rittich has never played in the playoffs and Smith last appeared in the
postseason in 2012, as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Avalanche: They can turn this into a battle of
special teams game. The Avalanche are deadly on the power play, converting at
22.0 percent (seventh in NHL). Calgary, meanwhile, has lost its way with the
man advantage in the final month, converting at an NHL-worst 6.1 percent since
March 1. Still, Colorado will have to be better on the penalty kill after going
78.7 percent, 25th in the NHL, in the regular season.
HOW THEY LOOK
FLAMES PROJECTED LINEUP
Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael
Backlund -- Michael
Frolik
Sam Bennett -- Mark
Jankowski -- James Neal
Andrew
Mangiapane -- Derek Ryan -- Garnet
Hathaway
Mark Giordano -- TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin --
Travis Hamonic
Oscar
Fantenberg -- Rasmus
Andersson
Mike Smith
David Rittich
Scratched: Austin
Czarnik, Dillon Dube, Alan Quine, Michael Stone,
Juuso Valimaki, Dalton Prout, Oliver
Kylington
AVALANCHE PROJECTED LINEUP
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Alexander
Kerfoot
Colin Wilson -- Carl
Soderberg - J.T. Compher
Matt Nieto -- Derick
Brassard -- Matt Calvert
Sven
Andrighetto - Tyson Jost -- Gabriel
Bourque
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Nikita
Zadorov -- Tyson Barrie
Ian Cole -- Patrik Nemeth
Philipp Grubauer
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched: Mark Barberio, Ryan Graves
No comments:
Post a Comment