Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The Calgary Flames (20-14-6-3, 17-26 PL, 19-23 O/U) clash with the Dallas Stars (25-11-5-2, 26-17 PL, 16-23 O/U) in a conference showdown on Saturday night. The Flames posted a road win against the Blues on Thursday night. The Stars were dealt an overtime road loss by the Rangers in their previous action. Calgary went 2-1 against Dallas in the regular season and beat them in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Calgary Flames resume a five-game road trek. They are 1-2 after the first three games. Calgary was dealt a disappointing overtime loss by the Blackhawks in the first game and a 4-3 defeat against the Blues on Tuesday. They rebounded with a 4-1 win in Thursday’s rematch against the Blues. Calgary has the skill to be a contending squad but has been inconsistent in the offensive end. They stand at 5-2-3 in their last ten games.
Elias Lindholm collected two assists in Thursday’s victory. The 28-year-old center accrued four points in his last three games and leads the squad with 38 points on the year. Tyler Toffoli has been held scoreless this month but has six points in that span. The 30-year-old has 15 goals along with 21 assists. Nazem Kadri has netted two goals in his last four games. The veteran center has not been quite as producti ve as last season with the Avalanche, posting 33 points and a minus-five rating.
Dubs dub. pic.twitter.com/2oU7cO38Nb
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 13, 2023
The Flames will likely have Jacob Markstrom guard the cage after Vladar was in net on Thursday. Markstrom is having a mediocre season for his standards, recording a 2.84 GAA and an .893 save % while Vladar has a 2.64 GAA and a .910 save %. Calgary is scoring an average of three goals per game, ranking them 23rd in the NHL. They are conceding an average of three goals, placing them 15th overall.