This Tuesday there're seven matches on the card in the NHL. The Philadelphia Flyers will visit Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary for a match against the Calgary Flames. Last season the Flames won the two meetings in overtime. Can they make it three in a row?
The Flames are struggling
The Calgary Flames were impressive during last years regular season. They won the Pacific Division and ended first in the Western Conference too. But the playoffs will conjure unpleasant memories for the Flames and their fans 'cause they were defeated in five games by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. It was by design of the NHL schedulers or coincidence, but the Flames opened their new season against the same Avs, a match they lost 5-3.
The NHL is two weeks underway, that the Flames started the season badly, can be called an understatement. They lost four of their first six games and now they will be looking to rebound after dropping their recent road game against the San Jose Sharks, 3-1. Although the Flames outshot the Sharks (33-20), it was dissapointing to see that only Elias Lindholm found a way to put the puck behind Martin Jones.
Elliott wil make his season debut
The Philadelphia Flyers finished last season at a disappointing thirteenth place in the Eastern Conference. One of the few pleasant surprises was Carter Hart. The 21-year old goalie impressed during his rookie season with an 18–5–2–3 record, a 2.29 goals against average (GAA) and a . 915 save percentage. Alain Vigneault became the new head coach of the Flyers last spring and he has full confidence in Hart as his number one goalie
The Flyers will play back-to-back matches this Tuesday and Wednesday so backup goalie Brian Elliott will make his season debut in Calgary tonight. The 34-year old will meet old friends 'cause he called the Saddledome home during the 2016-17 campaign. He'll be very motivated to extend te point streak of the Flyers to four games. After wins against the Chicago Blackhawks and the New Jersey Devils they most recently fell short in a 3-2 shootout loss against the Vancouver Canucks.
Flames will overcome their bad start to the season
Flames' first goaltender David Rittich will make his return in the lineup this Tuesday night. "Big Save Dave" played some great games already, but looked less sharp during his last start against the Vegas Golden Knights, where the Flames lost 6-2. You can bet he'll be anxious to bounce back against the Flyers. The Flames normally find the net quite easy in their own barn and with Elliott making his first minutes for the Flyers they should be able to improve their current negative record.
