Columbus Blue Jackets at Calgary Flames
December 1st, 2011 – 9:00pm EDT
Scotiabank Saddledome- Calgary, Alberta
Radio – WBNS 97.1 FM- TV – Fox Sports Ohio
Opponents Blog: Matchsticks and Gasoline
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On paper, this game is far from a barn-burner.
The Jackets and Flames are two of the Western Conference’s worst teams, with both squads struggling mightily on special teams and in the goal-scoring department. These teams are actually fairly evenly matched, with the exception of defense. The Flames are a middle-of-the-pack team defensively, backed by the strong play of Miikka Kiprusoff in goal. The Jackets will counter Kiprusoff with Curtis Sanford, who is a top-5 goaltender statistically. Sanford has been playing at a very high level, and with the Flames’ struggles to score, the Jackets have a good chance of evening up their record on this Western Conference road trip.
Projected Lineups
(Note: Lines are based on combinations used in practice yesterday and are subject to change)
| Vinny Prospal | Jeff Carter |
Rick Nash |
| R.J. Umberger |
Mark Letestu |
Ryan Johansen |
| Antoine Vermette |
Samuel Pahlsson |
Derek Dorsett |
| Cody Bass | Derek MacKenzie |
Jared Boll |
| Fedor Tyutin | Nikita Nikitin |
| James Wisniewski | Marc Methot |
| John Moore |
Grant Clitsome |
| Curtis Sanford |
| Steve Mason |
Calgary Flames
(’11-’12: 10-12-1, 21 Points; 5th Division, 13th Conference)
| Curtis Glencross | Olli Jokinen |
Jarome Iginla |
| Alex Tanguay |
Roman Horak |
Rene Bourque |
| Blake Comeau | Mikael Backlund |
Lee Stempniak |
| Tom Kostopoulos | Matt Stajan |
Tim Jackman |
| Jay Bouwmeester |
Chris Butler |
| Scott Hannan | T.J. Brodie |
| Derek Smith |
Cory Sarich |
| Miikka Kiprusoff |
| Henrik Karlsson |
By The Numbers (’11-’12 Season)
Scoring
CBJ – 2.29 G/G (26th)
CAL – 2.22 G/G (28th)Defense
CAL- 2.61 GA/G (16th)
CBJ – 3.17 GA/G (25th)Power Play
CAL – 12.7% (25th)
CBJ – 13.1% (24th)Penalty Kill
CAL- 80.2% (23rd)
CBJ – 75.6% (29th)
Game Notes:
- Rick Nash has taken over the team lead in goals, with seven.
- Vinny Prospal continues to lead the team in overall scoring, with 19 points.
- Derick Brassard and Aaron Johnson are the likely scratches tonight for the Jackets.
- The Flames will be without Mark Giordano, after he was injured in the Flames’ last game against Nashville.
- Alex Tanguay leads the Flames in scoring, with 16 points in 23 games.
- Jarome Iginla is tied with Curtis Glencross for the team lead in goals, with seven apiece.