BUFFALO - The only change to the Flames lineup tonight against the Sabres will be David Rittich in net.
Mike Smith stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced in a 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs and head coach Bill Peters confirmed Tuesday morning that he'll get the night off.
"Back-to-back with travel, we'll go with Ritter," said Peters following his team's optional morning skate at the KeyBank Center. "Ritter's been real good, lots of confidence in him. You look at his numbers, they've been excellent. Smitty can enjoy the game last night, then day off tomorrow and then right back at it."
Peters was asked by media if he'll make any other changes given his club is playing two games in as many nights, but said each situation is different and in this case they will skate the same lineup they did in Toronto.
"What I like to do is reward the guys who are playing well and we're coming off a real good effort," said Peters. "And who would you take out? How do you justify taking someone out now? If guys are dinged up and you're playing three in four, that's a little bit different. If the travel is excessive, that's a little bit different. Again, it was easy travel, guys played well, guys deserve to stay in. When you're out, you gotta dig in (to get back in). And when you're in the lineup, you gotta play well to stay in. That's the competition of it and it's a good healthy competition and we're lucky to have it."
PROJECTED LINEUP - FLAMES @ SABRES
Calgary's projected lines, defence pairings and starting goalie
