Flames shake up lines and Kirkland's getting scratched

The Calgary Flames are mixing up their lines in hopes of snapping a four-game losing streak tonight.

The Flames will be back home at the Saddledome tonight following an ugly two-game road trip in which they were outscored 10-1.

Things won’t be much easier tonight, as they are taking on a New Jersey Devils team that is tied for first in the league with 50 goals on the season. That said, Flames head coach Ryan Huska is making some tweaks to his lines that he hopes will give his team its best chance of grabbing two points tonight.

#Flames tonight vs. New Jersey:

Zary-Kadri-Pospisil
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Kuzmenko
Lomberg-Rooney-Mantha
 
Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Miromanov
Barrie-Pachal

Vladar

— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) November 1, 2024

The most notable of these changes is that Justin Kirkland appears to be sitting as a healthy scratch tonight. The 28-year-old has been a great story this season and had an assist in the Flames’ latest outing versus the Utah Hockey Club, making this somewhat of a surprising decision.

As Ryan Pike of Flames Nation pointed out, however, Kirkland has played in nine NHL games this season. Playing in a 10th would mean he requires waivers to be sent back to the AHL, which could be part of the reason he’s out of the lineup.

Of note: Justin Kirkland has played 9 games since last clearing waivers. If he plays a 10th game, he requires waivers to be assigned to the AHL's Calgary Wranglers. #Flames

— Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike) November 1, 2024

As for other changes, Matt Coronato, who was recalled from the Wranglers yesterday, will play a top-six role with Mikael Backlund down the middle and Blake Coleman on the right wing.

“[We want] Matt to be Matt,” Huska said when asked what he was looking to see from Coronato moving forward. “I think that’s the one thing, you always feel like whenever someone’s brought up and it’s a first-round pick, everybody puts the pressure of the world on his shoulders. It’s not that at all. He’s just gotta come up and be himself. We feel like that’s good enough.”

The 21-year-old seems to be of the same mindset, offering up a simple approach as to what he hopes to do for the Flames this time around.

“I’m excited. I’m looking forward to tonight,” Coronato said. “I just want to come in and contribute and help the team any way I can.”

The third line will remain the same as last game with the offensively-minded trio of Jonathan Huberdeau, Yegor Sharangovich, and Andrei Kuzmenko. That means that Anthony Mantha will remain on the fourth line with Ryan Lomberg despite scoring a goal last game. Kevin Rooney, who’s drawing in for Kirkland, will centre them.

As for the back end, Tyson Barrie will dress for a second-straight game for the first time this season. Daniil Miromanov is also expected to draw back in after being a healthy scratch versus the Utah Hockey Club. Coming out for him is Jake Bean.

The goaltending rotation will continue, with Dan Vladar getting the nod. He has a 3.18 goals against average (GAA) and a .895 save percentage (SV%) to go with a 2-2-1 record this season.

The Flames will be going up against a familiar face tonight, as Jacob Markstrom will be starting for the Devils. The 34-year-old spent the past four seasons with the Flames, compiling a 2.63 GAA and a .907 SV% over a combined 212 starts.

Puck drop in tonight’s outing is set for 7 pm MT.

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