(SportsNetwork.com) – There may not be a better 60-minute team in the NHL this
season than the Calgary Flames.
The Flames attempt to build off their latest comeback effort on Monday night
as they play host to a Winnipeg Jets club in danger of matching its longest
losing streak of the season.
Calgary is coming off its league-leading ninth victory of the season in which
it trailed after two periods. In danger of falling to the lowly Edmonton
Oilers on Saturday, the Flames scored four times in the third period to rally
for a 4-2 win.
Lance Bouma scored twice, while Paul Byron and Sean Monahan also scored.
Mikael Backlund and David Jones had two assists each, and Jonas Hiller made 17
saves in his club’s sixth victory in eight games.
“We generate confidence from all those comebacks that we do,” Calgary head
coach Bob Hartley said. “We never quit, and we knew that once we got one, we’d
get going.”
Monahan’s goal kept the forward in great form as of late, with the second-year
skater having tallied five goals and two assists over his past seven games.
Jiri Hudler did not play on Saturday due to illness and is questionable for
this game.
Calgary plays the fourth contest of a six-game homestand tied with the
Vancouver Canucks for third place in the Pacific Division.
Hiller is 1-2-1 with a 2.87 goals against average and .908 save percentage in
five games (4 starts) versus the Jets, who have lost five of their past seven
meetings with the Flames.
Winnipeg, though, has taken two straight in Calgary after losing each of its
first six trips to the city.
The Jets hope to snap a three-game slide tonight as special teams hurt them in
a 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Four of the five goals Winnipeg
allowed were on Dallas power plays, while the Jets failed to score on their
two chances on the man advantage.
Andrew Ladd and Toby Enstrom scored for the Jets, who have lost three straight
for the first time since a season-high four-game slide from Oct. 11-19.
Michael Hutchinson gave up all five goals on 32 shots.
“I don’t think we’re executing as well as we were,” said Jets forward Mathieu
Perreault. “Like I said, they got some good players on the power play.”
Winnipeg, a current wild card holder, is four points behind the Chicago
Blackhawks for third place in the Central Division and will also visit the
Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
With Hutchinson having made a rare second straight start on Saturday, Ondrej
Pavelec appears to be the likely starter for this game. He is 1-3-0 lifetime
versus the Flames with a 3.55 GAA and .861 save percentage in four meetings.
