Scouting the Flames

This is the first of four meetings this season between the Kings and the Calgary Flames. A quirky schedule meant that the Flames didn’t face a Pacific Division opponent until they hosted Anaheim on Thursday, which means 20 of the Flames’ final 38 games will be against Pacific teams. The Kings will face a major challenge from the Calgary Flames. Yes, the Flames trail the Kings by three points in the Western Conference, but that’s largely a product of the Flames’ wobbly start and poor play on the road. At home, they’ve been stellar. The Flames have won eight consecutive home games and are 10-0-1 at the Saddledome since Nov. 15. Anze Kopitar is expected to play tonight, after his big hit Thursday from Dallas’ Brenden Morrow. “By the time we left the Staples Center, he was ready to play,’’ Darryl Sutter said. “If we had played two, maybe he would have come back from the second one.’’ For the latest on the Flames, check out the coverage from the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun, followed by tonight’s expected lineups for both teams.

Calgary Herald’s Flames coverage

Calgary Sun’s Flames coverage

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KINGS LINEUP
Brown-Kopitar-Williams
Penner-Richards-Stoll
Richardson-Loktionov-Lewis
Clifford-Fraser-Hunter

Scuderi-Doughty
Mitchell-Voynov
Johnson-Greene

Quick
Bernier

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FLAMES LINEUP
Curtis Glencross-Olli Jokinen-Jarome Iginla
Michael Cammalleri-Mikael Backlund-Lee Stempniak
Tim Jackman-Roman Horak-Tom Kostopoulos
Matt Stajan-Blair Jones-Lance Bouma

Jay Bouwmeester-Chris Butler
Mark Giordano-Anton Babchuk
Cory Sarich-T.J. Brodie

Miikka Kiprusoff
Leland Irving

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