Flames at Blue Jackets
The Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets tend to play tight games - and Friday night should be no exception as the teams do battle at Nationwide Arena. The Flames are coming off a stunning 2-1 overtime win over the host Chicago Blackhawks in a game in which Calgary was outshot by a ridiculous 50-18 margin. The Blue Jackets are hoping to bounce back after dropping a 4-2 decision to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, their first loss of the season.
One-goal games have become a tradition in this showdown, with six of the last eight matchups having been decided by that margin. That span includes five overtime or shootout affairs, including a 2-1 Columbus OT victory in the previous encounter on Nov. 20. Friday marks the fifth contest of a brutal six-game road swing for the Flames, who wrap up their early-season jaunt Sunday evening in Winnipeg.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet (Calgary), Fox Sports Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (3-2-0): Calgary may have a difficult decision to make on the goaltending front - and in this case, that's a good thing. A night after Karri Ramo's outstanding performance in a 3-2 shootout win over Nashville, Jonas Hiller did one better - turning aside 49 shots to lead Calgary to the upset victory over Chicago. "They've both been great for us all season," said forward Mikael Backlund, who scored the game winner against the Blackhawks. "Another night of great goaltending and we're fortunate to have great goalies on this team."
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (2-1-0): Columbus has wasted no time leaning on holdout forward Ryan Johansen, playing him nearly 20 minutes in the loss to the Stars. It was just the third game back for Johansen, who missed the entire training camp in a contract dispute. "He's getting better," head coach Todd Richards told the Columbus Dispatch. "You can see he's getting stronger. There are still times when he gets winded out on the ice, but that's just like anybody after you've spent 45 seconds skating around hard."
OVERTIME
1. Columbus has been short-handed a league-low five times, and has yet to yield a power-play goal.
2. Johansen has just one goal and one assist in eight career games against the Flames.
3. The Flames are already 3-1-0 on the road in 2014-15 after going just 16-21-4 away from Calgary last season.