Canucks at Flames
The Calgary Flames will host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday aiming for their first win in three games against their Northwest Division rival. The Canucks defeated Los Angeles 5-2 at home on Saturday to increase their division lead to four points, while Calgary sits in the cellar and has allowed 66 goals - worst in the Western Conference. Vancouver goaltender Cory Schneider made 28 saves in Saturday’s win, his second straight start since Roberto Luongo allowed eight goals at Detroit last Sunday.
The Flames won their last two home games before going winless on a two-game road trip. Joey MacDonald has started six of the last seven games for Calgary while Miikka Kiprusoff recovers from an MCL sprain, winning three games and allowing 18 goals. MacDonald will have his hands full dealing with Daniel Sedin, who has 69 points in 68 career games against the Flames. Calgary leading scorer Alex Tanguay has five points on a four-game scoring streak, while captain Jarome Iginla has scored four of his five goals on the season in his last three games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (11-5-4): Daniel Sedin leads the team with 21 points, while brother and captain Henrik Sedin has 20. With injuries to Ryan Kesler and Manny Malhotra leaving holes down the middle, Mason Raymond performed admirably in his transition to center on Saturday, recording a goal and an assist with linemate Jannik Hansen. The duo used its speed to create opportunities on the rush against Los Angeles. Aside from yielding eight goals in his last outing, Luongo has been solid this season (5-1-3, two shutouts).
ABOUT THE FLAMES (7-8-4): Tanguay has 17 points and Iginla has 15. Curtis Glencross has a team-leading seven goals, but has scored once in the last seven games. Jiri Hudler recorded three assists in a 5-4 loss at Colorado on Thursday for his third multi-point performance of the season. It was also just the second time in eight games Hudler registered points. Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester has a point in each of his last four games, raising his season total to 11, along with 31 blocked shots. Defenseman Dennis Wideman leads the team with 39 blocked shots and has 10 points - seven on the power play.
OVERTIME
1. The Canucks defeated the Flames 3-2 in a shootout on Jan. 23 and 5-1 on Feb. 9. Both games were in Vancouver.
2. Calgary's Michael Cammalleri, who has points in his last three games, has 23 in 28 career games against the Canucks.
3. Vancouver is 6-0-1 against divisional opponents this season.
PREDICTION: Canucks 5, Flames 3