“One thing, we dropped our last game. So, this one becomes more important for us to make sure we're getting back on track,” said Head Coach Ryan Huska. “But it’s like a rivalry game, too. You always want to play your best against your rivals, and you have this situation where they're on a really good run. So, we have an opportunity to play our best game against them (tonight).”
Indeed, Priority No. 1 for the Flames is bouncing back after suffering their first regulation defeat of the campaign, 4-2, at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
The Flames took over in the back half of the game and gave their eastern conference counterparts everything they could handle, but a “15-minute lapse,” according to Nazem Kadri, was enough to cost them.
Jake Bean’s first as a Flame and Jonathan Huberdeau’s team-leading fourth of the year supplied the offence for the Flames, who were backstopped by Dan Vladar and his marvellous, 39-save effort.
One thing is clear:
If the Flames come out and take charge of the game, similar to how they tilted the ice in the final 30 minutes on Thursday, they could be the ones to hand the Jets their first loss of the season.
“They don't give up much and when they do, they've got a pretty good goalie back there,” said Ryan Lomberg. “For us, we're going to have to play a full 60 minutes, play the right way and be satisfied with not getting too much, because they don't give a lot up.
“It's kind of going to be like a playoff game. There's not going to be a lot of ice out there and you're going to have to make it work.
“It's a good challenge for us and we have to be ready for it.”
