Calgary Flames face off against Colorado Avalanche in must-win encounter - NHL Preview
This is a pivotal moment for the Calgary Flames season as they play in a must win encounter against Colorado Avalanche that may decide whether they make it to the playoffs or not on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at the Pepsi Center.
The Flames are in the thick of the five-team race for the final two playoff spots and need the two points desperately to tie with their rivals on points.
Calgary, are currently on a two-game skid and lie 11th in the Western Conference with 81-points as they trail eighth placed Colorado Avalanche by two.
Colorado on the other hand will also be looking for victory to increase the gap between themselves and the chasing pack.
The Avalanche are currently eighth in the conference tied on points at 83 with seventh placed Phoenix Coyotes.
This has all the makings of a playoff game and both teams will give it their all in the high stakes game as the two points on the line might make or break both teams’ season.
Avalanche (39-30-5, 83 pts)
Colorado are in a great run of form and their recent surge up the Western Conference have helped them secure a playoff spot.
The Avalanche won their last game on the road to Eastern Conference leaders New York Rangers 3-1 as they delivered a massive performance.
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead early in the first period, but Colorado struck back fast as they equalised late in the first period and then shutout the Rangers completely thanks to some brilliant goaltending by Semyon Varlamov.
The Avalanche scored twice in each of the remaining two periods to run out with a convincing victory and confidence is running high in the locker room.
Forward Gabriel Landeskog was ecstatic at the win and said after the game.
"To get five out of six points is huge for us. We knew it was going to be a big road trip against good teams, and we just kind of took it one game at a time. That's the way we've got to do it coming down the stretch and have fun with it."
Flames (34-26-13, 81 pts)
Calgary on the other hand are on a surge of their own as they put together a five-game winning run to get them right back on track for the playoffs.
However, the Flames have lost their last two with disappointing defeats to lowly Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Those defeats have raised the importance of this fixture and the Flames need to deliver in this game if they wish to remain relevant.
Centre Matt Stajan knows the importance of each and every point and was not satisfied with the Flames 2-1 shootout defeat to the Blue Jackets in their last game.
"We're not satisfied. We're not here happy we got one point. We left a point on the table. That's our own fault. That's on us. There's nothing we can do now.
"We can't over-analyze. You learn from it. You move forward. We're in the situation we're in now."
Predictions
Colorado’s home ice advantage may help them but both teams are desperate for a win and the Flames will not go down easily.
Sum of goals will be less than six.
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