Ramo to get third start in row vs Avs
The official game preview Calgary Flames vs Colorado Avalanche.Season series: The Colorado Avalanche have earned three of four points in two games against the Calgary Flames. Alex Tanguay had a goal and an assist to lift the Avalanche to a 3-2 win March 14 at Pepsi Center.
Avalanche team scope: It's the third of a five-game road trip for Colorado, which has managed three points thus far. Defenseman Erik Johnson practiced Sunday for the first time since sustaining a knee injury Jan. 27, but he will not play on the road trip. Forward Jesse Winchester (concussion) could play depending on how he feels after the morning skate.
Goalie Semyon Varlamov will get the start. "These are teams that are just ahead of us," coach Patrick Roy said Sunday. "It's good timing. We're playing good hockey. We cannot ask for a better situation. If we want to catch these teams, we're going to have to beat these teams and we're going to have to play good hockey if we want to have a chance."
Flames team scope: Calgary is 1-1-1 on its five-game homestand and most recently dropped a 3-2 overtime decision against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. In the midst of a stretch that has the Flames playing six games in 11 nights, they held an optional practice Sunday. "With our schedule we're trying to manage energy and make sure that we're ready where it counts," coach Bob Hartley said, according to the Flames website.
"It's the game. Everyone was in the gym. We just have a 25-minute skate with the ones we wanted on the ice. Just a normal business day. We're trying to save energy. You see practices right now. They're not long. It's all about managing energy, but at the same time we need competitors at this time of the year. It's a matter of making sure you're on the job, that every single battle, every single second that you're on the ice, something can happen." Goalie Karri Ramo will make his third straight start.
-- by NHL.com --
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23/03/2015 - 16:30
