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Sunday, November 27, 2016

{allcanada} FLAMES (10-12-1) at FLYERS (9-10-3)

 

FLAMES (10-12-1) at FLYERS (9-10-3)

7:30 p.m. ET; CSN-PH, SNW, NHL.TV

 

Flames team scope

Calgary Flames forward Kris Versteeg will play Sunday. "I'm ready to go," he told the Flames website. "I'm excited about getting back in. It was one game to kind of just get things diagnosed and see what the issue was but I feel great." He practiced at Class of 1923 Arena on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, but coach Glen Gulutzan had said Versteeg would be a game-time decision. Versteeg, who has two goals and three assists in 13 games, sustained an upper-body injury after colliding with teammate Troy Brouwer during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday and did not play against the Boston Bruins on Friday. The game against the Blue Jackets was his first after missing nine games because of a groin injury. Versteeg said he isn't concerned with either injury bothering him. "I think we did what we had to do to understand the issue," he said. "It was fine but we needed to take some precautions so I'm good to go." Gulutzan said he was excited to have Versteeg back in the lineup. "[Versteeg] always is good for those one or two really high-end plays per game where he puts something on somebody's tape or he makes a play like you saw the other night in Columbus [an assist on Brouwer's game-winning goal]," Gulutzan said. "He's got some real skill and can help make that one real crisp play every game."

 

Flyers team scope

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Anthony Stolarz will make his NHL debut Sunday. It's a long time coming for Stolarz, 22, who has been recalled from the American Hockey League 10 times the past three seasons without playing. "For me it was all about being patient and working hard," he said. "I know the coaches told me to just be ready because you'll get your opportunity. It was my job to go out there and show them I was ready." Prior to being called up Nov. 14, he was 6-2-0 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in eight games with Lehigh Valley. Stolarz, in his third professional season, said he's more mature now on and off the ice. He also believes more time with goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh has helped refine his game. "Kim's been extremely helpful to my game so far," Stolarz said. "He's all about attention to detail and pushing yourself. I definitely think I have to attribute a lot of my success to him. He's working with the goalies every day. Being able to work with him in terms of angle maintenance and head looks, he's brought another element to my game that I didn't have before." Coach Dave Hakstol said there's a higher level of trust in Stolarz now than at any point the past two seasons. "You can't pinpoint one thing," he said "It's development. It's experience. He's gone down there, he's done the work. I think that shows in his day-to-day performance with us."

 

Flames projected lineup

Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Michael Frolik

Kris Versteeg -- Sean Monahan -- Troy Brouwer

Sam Bennett -- Matt Stajan -- Alex Chiasson

Micheal Ferland -- Freddie Hamilton -- Garnet Hathaway

Mark Giordano -- Dougie Hamilton

TJ Brodie -- Dennis Wideman

Brett Kulak -- Deryk Engelland

Chad Johnson

Brian Elliott

Scratched: Hunter Shinkaruk, Mark Jankowski, Jyrki Jokipakka

Injured: Johnny Gaudreau (finger), Lance Bouma (upper body), Ladislav Smid (neck)

 

Flyers projected lineup

Michael Raffl -- Claude Giroux -- Wayne Simmonds

Travis Konecny -- Nick Cousins -- Jakub Voracek

Matt Read -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Dale Weise

Chris VandeVelde -- Brayden Schenn -- Roman Lyubimov

Andrew MacDonald -- Shayne Gostisbehere

Ivan Provorov -- Radko Gudas

Michael Del Zotto -- Mark Streit

Anthony Stolarz

Steve Mason

Scratched: Scott Laughton, Nick Schultz

Injured: Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Brandon Manning (precautionary reasons), Boyd Gordon (upper body), Sean Couturier (lower body)

 

Status report

Versteeg's presence in the lineup means Jankowski will have to wait at least one more game to make his NHL debut. Jankowski, the 21st pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, was called up from Stockton of the AHL on Friday. Johnson will start his third straight game. The Flames did not have a morning skate. … The Flyers had an optional morning skate. Manning practiced Saturday but won't play Sunday. He was hit face-first into the boards by New York Rangers forward Brandon Pirri during the first period Friday and missed the final 9:50 of the third period. He'll be replaced by Del Zotto, who was a healthy scratch for the past three games. "He comes in with all the confidence in the world from us as a staff," Hakstol said. "He'll come in, play a strong, solid game." Lyubimov, who replaces Laughton, had been a healthy scratch the past seven games.

 

Who's hot

Johnson has allowed one goal on 70 shots in his past two starts. … VandeVelde has points in back-to-back games; he had two points in his previous 15 games.

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