Avalanche Game 56 at Calgary Flames: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

The Colorado Avalanche (31-22-2) begin a back-to-back to close their road trip before the 4 Nations Faceoff against the Calgary Flames (26-20-7). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. MT.

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Coming off a frustrating and disappointing performance in a 3-0 loss to Vancouver, the Avalanche are in need of a rebound in the worst type of way.

Perhaps a game against a team hot on your tail in the wildcard race should do the trick — granted it didn’t against the Canucks. Despite getting great goaltending from Mackenzie Blackwood, the Avs are struggling to score goals. They had four against the St. Louis Blues in the first period three games ago but have since scored just three goals in eight periods. Blackwood has only surrendered two goals in his last three starts — both against the Canucks — but has had little support.

He’ll likely get the nod in goal again with Trent Miner or Scott Wedgewood serving as backup. Wedgewood is on the trip but is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The Betano bonus code will help our Canadian friends who want a little action on the game.

Josh Manson was injured against Vancouver and did not return for the third period. He’ll miss the next two games. Replacing him is Oliver Kylington, who hasn’t played since November recovering from an injury of his own. It’ll be his first game back in Calgary against the Flames — the team that drafted him 10 years ago. Kylington’s tenure ended suddenly with the Flames last summer and might result in boos raining down on the blueliner.

Kylington played 201 games for Calgary.

Offensively, Colorado is likely going with the same 12 forwards.

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The Flames have been one of the better stories this season. What began as a team projected to finish at the bottom of the standings has quickly turned into one of the buyers of the trade deadline.

Last week Calgary acquired both Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers, rewarding their team with two notable forwards who are assets that will remain with the team well past this season.

The team is also not interested in trading any of its veterans like Rasmus Andersson and Nazem Kadri. The Avs’ No. 2 center in 2022 is again enjoying another productive season. Kadri has become a leader for the Flames and one of the main reasons why they’ve held it together in the wildcard race for this long.

The bigger factor? Rookie goalie Dustin Wolf. Listed at just 6’0 and 166 lbs, Wolf has completely changed the tune of the Flames with his play this year. He’s 19-10-2 with a .914 save percentage and will likely end up as one of the three finalists for the Calder Trophy.

Wolf gets the nod in goal tonight, making his first career start against the Avalanche.

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