Game Preview: On The Heels Of A Troubling Loss, Johnny Gaudreau Faces His Former Team For The First Time When Calgary Visits Columbus

CALGARY FLAMES

13–10–3 (29points; .558%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE

7:00 P.M. – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9  NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH

TV: Bally Sports Ohio, ESPN+

Johnny Gaudreau played 602 games with the Calgary Flames, but he skates against his former team for the first time Friday when the Columbus Blue Jackets attempt to move past an alarming loss on home ice Wednesday.

That alarming loss — 9-4 to the sub-.500 Buffalo Sabres — was seen by a national audience, as the game was broadcasted on TNT. The score on its own is bad enough, but Buffalo's 6-0 lead after the first period and five-goal performance from forward Tage Thompson was well-noticed around the league.

Now, the Blue Jackets must find a way to reset themselves for the Flames only trip of the year to Columbus. Not just to reclaim some of their pride, but to help Gaudreau be victorious against the team he suited up with for nearly a decade.

Here's what to know for the Blue Jackets first meeting of the year against the Flames:

TALKING POINTS: CGY

• The Flames lost Gaudreau over the summer, but the team also traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weeger. They also signed Nazem Kadri late in free agency, so this Calgary team looks much different than the one that had 50 wins and 111 points last season. They won't win as many games as last season, but the Flames are still competing for a playoff spot and remain a balanced threat out west. 
   
• Kadri and fellow forward Tyler Toffoli share the team lead with ten goals. Only one other skater — Elisa Lindholm — has more than six goals through Calgary's first 26 games. Lindholm is second on assists with 13 and top on the Flames with 22 points. Through 26 games last season, Gaudreau had a stat line of 10-19-29. (This season, Gaudreau is 9-19-28 in 25 games.) 
   
• The Flames hit a rough patch in early November, losing seven in a row, but have been on fire (too easy?) since then. Most recently, they won all but once in a five-game homestand, outscoring the opposition 20-11 in the 4-1-0 stretch. Dating back even more, Calgary has gone nine straight games without allowing more than three goals.
   
• Calgary has connected on the power play four times in the last two games. That's not good news for the Blue Jackets, who have allowed seven power play goals in their last four — including three to the Sabres in the Wednesday night blowout.