Islanders: Previewing the Most Important Road Trip of the Season

On March 12th the Islanders head to Calgary to take on the Flames. Puck drop for this one is scheduled for 9 p.m.

The Flames will be playing the Islanders in the midst of a 5 game home-stand and they will be well-rested for this game. The flames last game before this came at home against Vegas on March 8th.

As of today, the Flames are third place in the Pacific Division. They have 79 points in 70 games. The Flames are behind Pacific Division leader, Vegas Golden Knights, who have 84 points in 70 games.

The Flames are led by leading point scorer and antagonist, Mathew Tkachuk. Tkachuk leads the Flames with 61 points (23 goals and 38 assists). He is definitely one player who absolutely loves getting under opposing player’s skin.

Behind him, Elias Lindholm leads the Flames in goals, with 29 and Johnny Gaudreau leads the team in assists, with 40. Lindholm and Gaudreau play on a line with Sean Monahan and are the Flames top line.

On defense, the Flames are led by their top d-pair of Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie. Giordano leads the flames in ice time, averaging 23:53 per game. He also has great skating ability and vision.

Between the pipes, Calgary has Cam Talbot and David Rittich. Rittich has been Calgary’s number one this year, playing in 48 games.

Calgary will be without, former Islander, Travis Hamonic. The good news is, he should be returning soon from an upper body injury.

The Flames have a lot of offensive firepower and the Islanders must play a strong defensive game in Calgary.