Will the Arizona Coyotes get thrice burned? Calgary Flames Game Preview
Arizona Coyotes fans: take a break from the Voynov drama to size up tonight’s competition
Twas the night after the Edmonton Oilers beatdown,
and all through the house
eager Coyotes fans were hungry for a win in Calgary’s house.
I’m kind of lame, guys. We have a better Coyotes Christmas poem being fired up in the Howlin’ Hockey staff oven, anyways.
The Arizona Coyotes took home an absolute gimme of a win over the nose-diving Edmonton Oilers, coming back from a 1-0 deficit in the second period to deliver a beatdown at Rexall Place. Tobias Rieder became everyone’s favorite new man-crush, and we were reminded why Mike Smith is pretty aite.
It’s back to Calgary, though, for the second half of an extremely formidable Flames – Oilers – Flames sandwich.
Details for Tuesday night’s game:
DATE: Tuesday, December 2nd
TIME: 8:00 P.M. (CST)
LOCATION: Calgary, Alberta
ARENA: Scotiabank Saddledome
TV INFO: Fox Sportz AZ, RSNW
Nov 29, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Calgary Flames center Sean Monahan (23) follows the puck in the first period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Four Players to Watch:
1. Mike Smith: in his second back-to-back start, Mike Smith will get a chance to redeem himself at the Saddledome tonight. He’s coming off the emotional high of holding the Oilers to only two goals (whereas the Coyotes only won 2-1 in the second season-series game, and Smith was scored upon four times in the season-series opener), so hopefully he’ll be ready to lock it down tonight as well. Things will go well if he remembers how tricky Johnny Gaudreau is, and keeps an eye out for this pint-sized superstar to sneak into passing holes. Things will go poorly if he lets a goal get to his head and starts to tank early on.
2. Karri Ramo: when the Flames signed on Jonas Hiller, we all assumed that Ramo’s time as the team’s starter was behind him. This netminder has proven why the team kept him on board during their rebuild, though, and has subsequently been awarded his third consecutive start against the Coyotes tonight. His confidence is up, as his team has shown that they still believe in him — if anyone is going to pose a major threat tonight, this is the guy. Things will go well for the Coyotes if they can finally get a goal on him… but they’ll go very poorly indeed if he continues to ride high and dominate all around.
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3. Tobias Rieder: You had to know he’d be a guy to watch! Tobias Rieder has proven his value ten times over so far this season, recording nearly a point per game over the team’s past slump and leading the entire roster in plus-minus. He’s a former fourth round draft pick, so many thought he’d be signing on for a depth role when he got called up… but Rieder has quickly reshaped the way his team looks at him. This fast, exciting winger is a game-changer… and that’s what he’ll need to be tonight more than ever. Things will go well if he plays like he has, well, every night so far. Things will go poorly if he isn’t looking good or if the Flames figure out how to shut him down early on.
4. Sean Monahan: widely considered one of the most exciting, dynamic centers to have broken out this season, Sean Monahan will be looking to leave a more lasting impression tonight than he did on Saturday. With only one shot and one assist in the Flames’ last win over the Coyotes, expect this youngster to remind everyone that he’s still here — and he’s pretty good, too. The Coyotes need to focus on Johnny Hockey, obviously, but they can’t let Monahan float around unattended… he’s lethal, too.
Predictions:
The whole league is going to be pretty preoccupied tonight with the Kings-Bruins matchup (and deciding whether they want to torch Staples Center with the league’s two most hated teams inside), so this could be a quiet game tonight.
Regardless, I think the Coyotes are fired up — and if they can get a goal in the first, ah, I’ll go with first thirty minutes of the game, they could very easily take home the win tonight.
It won’t be easy, though, especially if Connor Murphy doesn’t get a chance to play. Expect to see both teams give this game their all — they don’t face off again until mid-January, so this is their last chance in 2014 to leave a lasting impression with one another.
I say the Coyotes take home a baaaaaarely there win, and Sam Gagner finally scores another goal (because I will go to my grave believing he feels to bad for Edmonton to actually score against them.)
*of course, the league could just suspend operations tonight, since the entirety of the NHL is clearly teetering on the edge of total implosion.*