TUESDAY'S STORY LINE: Before the Wild and Flames met Saturday, Flames coach Bob Hartley called out his team for being soft. Since then, Calgary has responded with two straight wins, defeating the Wild on Saturday and Phoenix on Sunday. The Flames now have 17 points, one fewer than the Wild. A Calgary win Tuesday would put it ahead of Minnesota in the Western Conference standings.
"It is a huge game," Wild forward Kyle Brodziak said. "We are not too worried about them because obviously right now we are trying to focus on ourselves, and we know it is a huge game any time we play them. We know it's going to be a battle, and we just have to be ready for it. We got to keep building our game staying focused on the process and on what we need to do to be successful every night."
Coach Mike Yeo expressed his displeasure with his team's loss on Saturday in Calgary and is looking forward to seeing how it responds. In the shortened season, there is no time to dwell on losses.
"I think responding is going to be huge this entire season, not getting caught up in last game," he said. "We have to make sure we come back with the focus on our game and just the idea that we have to play really well tonight. That is riding the ups and downs of the season, and teams that are successful this season will find a way after a tough game or after an emotional game to come back the next day and to be on top of your game."
FALK IN, PROSSER AND KONOPKA OUT: Defenseman Justin Falk, who has been a healthy scratch the last three games, will be back in the lineup tonight. Yeo said he would like to see Falk use his big body. Nate Prosser and Zenon Konopka will be healthy scratches.
BACKSTROM IS BACK IN NET: Niklas Backstrom, who is 3-2-1 with a 2.04 GAA in his last five starts, is scheduled get the start.
Backstrom has stopped 47 of the 50 shots he has faced in two games against the Flames this season.
HE SAID IT: "It is very important. No question it has been putting more pressure on all of our players and putting more pressure on our team. For a team at this point in the season, we have played well defensively. If we had scored even two or three more goals, our record might look different. So we have to get that going; there is no question." -- Yeo on the Wild power play
