Flames at Canucks
THE STORY: After a sluggish start, the Vancouver Canucks seemingly had regained their impressive form. The reigning Western Conference champions had pieced together five consecutive victories before a wild 6-5 loss to the offensively challenged Nashville Predators on Thursday. Cory Schneider, who had been rock-solid in replacing the injured Roberto Luongo, inexplicably permitted three goals on five shots and was unceremoniously pulled from the contest. Enter Luongo, who was playing in his first game since Nov. 13 after suffering an undisclosed upper body injury. The Vezina Trophy finalist and the Canucks will look to regain their footing on Sunday night when they host the Northwest Division rival Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena. Vancouver improved to 9-0-2 in its last 11 games against Calgary after a decisive 5-1 road rout on Nov. 1. Luongo was in net for that one and ended up just 32 seconds shy of recording a shutout. For its part, Calgary has collected seven of a possible eight points in its last four games (3-0-1).
TV: 9 p.m. ET, RSW, RSNP
ABOUT THE FLAMES (11-12-2): Calgary rebounded after yielding two goals in the game's first three minutes to post a 5-3 win over provincial rival Edmonton on Saturday night. Captain Jarome Iginla, who has been the subject of constant trade rumors, collected three assists in what was arguably his best game of the season. The Flames held the Oilers to just one shot while killing off all six shorthanded situations on Saturday, but the test gets harder on Sunday. Vancouver boasts the NHL's top-ranked power play (25.7 percent).
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (14-10-1): Right wing Mason Raymond was expected to make his return against Nashville, but the necessary paperwork did not find its way to NHL headquarters until five minutes after the deadline. As a result, Raymond - who has been sidelined with a vertebrae compression fracture since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals - had a few extra days to prepare for his season debut. For what it's worth, Vancouver assistant GM Laurence Gilman said that Raymond's paperwork was submitted without issue on Friday morning.
OVERTIME:
1. Flames GM Jay Feaster isn't interested in shaking things up. "I’m happy with this coaching staff," Feaster told the Calgary Sun. "That’s probably the dreaded vote of confidence or whatever they call it, but this coaching staff has done a good job. They work hard. They’ve done a good job of teaching."
2. Canucks D Alex Edler hasn't scored a goal since he collected a tally and two assists in the previous outing versus the Flames.