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Game 22 Hub: Calgary Flames @ Ottawa Senators

The Flames and Senators face-off for the first time this season: can Ottawa make it 5 wins in 7 games?

Calgary Flames v Ottawa Senators Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images

After playing the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets five times each, it feels like the Senators have gotten quite familiar with everyone in this division. However, we’re 21 games into the season and they still haven’t played the Calgary Flames. That changes tonight, as the Flames are in Ottawa for the next three games until Monday night. With the way that some of these Canadian mini-series have been going, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see some bad blood come up with this new opponent.

Ottawa is surprisingly 4-2-0 in their last 6 games, although 3 of those wins came in overtime or a shootout, with the lone regulation win against Winnipeg happening thanks to a last-minute goal from Brady Tkachuk. So they haven’t been destroying teams, but they have certainly been playing well enough to get better results than they were in January. At the bare minimum, they have been playing fun and watchable hockey, which you could not have said for their first 10 games.

Here are what the lines are expected to be tonight against the Flames:

Tkachuk - Norris - C. Brown
Paul - White - Dadonov
Stützle - Anisimov - Batherson
Peca - Tierney - Watson

Chabot - Zaitsev
Reilly - Zub
Brannstrom - Gudbranson

Murray

Player Stats

Game 22 Ottawa Senators Calgary Flames
Game 22 Ottawa Senators Calgary Flames
Category Player # Player #
Goals Brady Tkachuk 8 Johnny Gaudreau 9
Assists Brady Tkachuk 7 Elias Lindholm 13
Points Brady Tkachuk 15 Johnny Gaudreau/Elias Lindholm 18
Shots Brady Tkachuk 89 Matthew Tkachuk 70
Time on Ice/GP Thomas Chabot 25:42 Elias Lindholm 21:41

Team Stats

Game 22 Ottawa Senators Calgary Flames
Game 22 Ottawa Senators Calgary Flames
Category # Rank # Rank
Goals/GP 2.43 28th 2.50 24th
Goals Against/GP 4 31st 2.80 18th
Shots/GP 32.6 3rd 28.9 24th
Shots Against/GP 31.3 23rd 30.7 20th
Powerplay % 13.00% 28th 21.10% 15th
Penalty Kill % 75.40% 24th 80.60% 12th
Corsi % (5v5 SVA) 50.50% 12th 50.80% 11th
xGF % (5v5 SVA) 48.62% 23rd 51.84% 11th

Game Notes:

  • This will be just the fifth matchup between the Tkachuk brothers, with Brady having 2 goals and 1 assist in the previous 4 games, and Matthew having 1 goal and 2 assists. Symmetry.
  • The Flames are coming off of an OT loss last night in Toronto where they blew a 1-0 lead with 1:28 to go. I feel like that is either very good news or very bad news for the Senators. It just depends on how strong the Flames are mentally, because they will either be very motivated to make up for it or will be deflated the day after.
  • Drake Batherson has 6 points in his last 5 games, with a goal and an assist in each of the last two. I think he’s clearly arrived for good.
  • Logan Brown was recalled after the Senators placed Derek Stepan on the IR, and Brown is apparently healthy now. I bet he will get into game action on either Saturday or Monday.
  • Artem Anisimov draws into the lineup for Stepan instead of Brown, and I’m not sure he’s the best fit to centre Stützle and Batherson. I can’t imagine that trio lasting long.
  • Matt Murray will start his 15th game of the season and it will be his 17th appearance in 22 games, which is quite the workload. I wonder if Joey Daccord will start a game soon?
  • This stat is quite interesting, and I wonder how many goals Ottawa can keep it up for:
  • The Flames are 1-3-1 in their past 5 games, with an overall mediocre record of 9-9-2. They sit 5th in the division (sorry, Scotia North Division...gotta get that sponsorship in there) and are 2 points back of the 4th place Montreal Canadiens but they have 2 more games played. Although the season isn’t at its halfway point, Calgary will have to begin playing with some urgency.
  • In non-game roster related moves, it looks like Filip Chlapik’s time with the organization has reached it’s final 24 hours. He has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purposes of mutually agreed contract termination.

Puck drop is 7:00 EST and you can watch it on TSN2, TSN3, or RDS.