Game Preview: Blue Jackets, Flames Battle Tuesday Night In Canada, Three Weeks After Calgary Handed Columbus A Wretched Loss

CALGARY FLAMES

26–13–6 (58 points; .644%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE

9:00 P.M. – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH SCOTIABANK SADDLEDOME CALGARY, AB, CANADA

BALLY SPORTS OHIO ESPN+ (Out of Market)

It can't get any worse — right?

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames will meet Tuesday night from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Alberta, 20 days after the Blue Jackets allowed a franchise-worst 62 shots on goal to the Flames in an embarrassing 6-0 loss. 

That game was the third consecutive loss for Columbus and the fifth consecutive game in which the offense scored two or less goals.

But since that game, Boone Jenner and company have won five of six and have 26 goals in those games — an average of 4.33 goals per game. Two of those wins have came against the league-worst Montreal Canadiens and another was against the Buffalo Sabres, but wins over the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals have shown that the January 26th blowout to the Flames wasn't a morally derailing game.

RE: CALGARY

For as good as the Jackets have been in the last few weeks, the Flames have been even better. Calgary has won six straight, outscored their opponents 26-9 during that stretch and beating the Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs by a combined score of 11-2 in the midst of the streak.

Calgary is a puck-possession team, and that's the kind of team the Blue Jackets have struggled against this season. Their 55.4% Corsi For rating ranks second-best in the NHL, trailing only the Florida Panthers, who have 17 goals in two games against the Blue Jackets this season.

Johnny Gaudreau has been a key catalyst for the Flames and their success this season; his 19 goals is third-best on the team, but his 39 assists and 58 points lead the team by a fairly wide margin. With 29 assists and 50 points, Matthew Tkachuk ranks second in both categories behind Gaudreau, but his 21 goals are second on the team. Both players trail Andrew Mangiapane, who's already set a career high with 24 goals on the season. 

The Flames have an average defense, but goaltender Jacob Markstrom has made it look like the Flames have three lockdown pairings on the blueline. The 32-year-old has a .926 save percentage and 2.12 goals against average on the season. To compare those, former Blue Jacket goalie Sergei Bobrovsky averaged a .921 save percentage and 2.41 GAA during his seven seasons in Columbus. That's how good Markstrom has been this season: Bobrovsky-esque. 

STORYLINES

• MAKE A STATEMENT
  The Flames are the best team in the province of Alberta — and the other team is the one with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Calgary could be a dark horse Stanley Cup pick, but if they keep playing the way they have, they won't be a dark horse for long. 
  
  MoneyPuck gives Columbus just a 24.6% chance to win this game — the lowest odds they've had to win a game so far this season. The game is on the road. The Flames are well-rested and in the midst of a huge, seven-game homestand. Everything about this game says the Flames should win easily — so make a statement. A lot can be learned in games like these, and one of those things is winning a seemingly unwinnable game.
   
• KEEP THAT POWER PLAY CLICKING
  Columbus has scored on four of their last eight power play opportunities, which is their best stretch of the COVID-era. Patrik Laine has three of the four man-up tallies (Oliver Bjorkstrand has the other), and it will be interesting to see if this is just a hot streak or if the Blue Jackets have found something on the power play unit that works. If it's the latter, this could be a fun last two months of the season.

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