The Calgary Flames had their 10-game winning streak come to an end earlier this week in a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins as starting goaltender Brian Elliott sat out the game due to illness.
The Flames will be looking to start a new winning streak on Friday night when they host the Dallas Stars, and they will have Elliott back in the net as he returns to the starting lineup.
Elliott has been on a roll for the Flames since the start of February and was one of the major driving forces behind their recent winning streak. Along with winning each of his past nine starts (and earning at least a point in 11 in a row) the Flames are 12-1-1 in his past 14 decisions while he has a .935 save percentage in those games. Prior to that stretch the Flames were only 9-12-2 in his first 23 decisions this season due in large part to his miserable .898 save percentage, a performance that resulted in him losing some playing time to backup Chad Johnson. Basically the 2016-17 campaign has been a tale of two very different seasons for Elliott. This latest one is probably closer to what the Flames had in mind when they acquired him from the St. Louis Blues over the offseason.
On Friday he goes against a Stars team that is coming off of a 4-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks but has still lost three of its past four games.
The Stars did not hold a morning skate on Friday and have yet to announce their starting goalie for the night.
Elsewhere on Friday...
-- Antti Raanta goes for the New York Rangers on Friday night against the Florida Panthers as Henrik Lundqvist remains sidelined. The Rangers are back in action again on Saturday and it is possible Raanta could get the start that day as well. James Reimer is the likely starter for Florida.
-- Matt Murray is back in net for the shorthanded Pittsburgh Penguins as they host the New Jersey Devils. Given their current injury situation he might need a big game. The Devils will go with Keith Kinkaid again after he picked up the win on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
-- Jonathan Bernier gets a chance to run his personal winning streak to five games when he gets the start against the Buffalo Sabres. Bernier has a .952 save percentage during his current run. The Sabres have not yet announced their starter for Friday’s game.