The Flames and Canucks will play a two-game, home-and-home series starting tonight in Vancouver -- and, unsurprisingly, both clubs are going with their in-form netminders.
Ryan Miller, riding a personal four-game winning streak and coming off a 22-save shutout of Arizona, will go for Vancouver. The veteran has been terrific of late, allowing just five goals on his last 111 shots -- a stellar .955 save percentage.
Elliott’s been good lately, too.
He’s riding a personal five-game winning streak, which included a win over Vancouver two weeks ago. All told, he’s posted a 1.80 GAA and .922 save percentage over that stretch, and has wrestled the No. 1 gig away from Chad Johnson.
Speaking of Johnson, it’ll be interesting to see if he gets the nod for tomorrow’s rematch in Calgary. The Flames could opt to rest Elliott -- Saturday’s game would be his fourth start in seven days -- but head coach Glen Gulutzan could also stick with the hot hand, given points are so precious.
Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins faces a similar conundrum. Jacob Markstrom is due for a start, having not played since Dec. 31, and there is always concern in Vancouver about overplaying the 36-year-old Miller.
Elsewhere...
-- Frederik Andersen, fresh off getting lit up for six goals in an OT loss to Washington, is back in goal for the Leafs. He’ll go up against Cory Schneider, who starts for the host Devils.
-- Roberto Luongo gets a second start for Florida, after facing 39 shots in a mid-week loss to Winnipeg. No word yet on who he’ll face, as the visiting Preds have yet to name a starter (Pekka Rinne did beat the Bolts last night.)
-- Scott Darling gives Corey Crawford the night off in Chicago, making his first start since Dec. 30. No word on who goes for the visiting ‘Canes, as Cam Ward started in St. Louis last night, and got the win.
-- The Isles will stick with Thomas Greiss in Colorado tonight, as Greiss is riding a three-game winning streak. Semyon Varlamov still isn’t ready to go, so the Avs will give Calvin Pickard another start.
-- John Gibson, coming off a 23-save shutout of Detroit on Wednesday, is back in goal for the Ducks. Mike Smith will be between the pipes for the visiting Coyotes.