Calgary Flames Potentially Without Blueliner Despite Win

Whitecloud has become one of the leaders on the backend with the absence of both Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar by way of trades. Instantly becoming a top pairing guy alongside Kevin Bahl.

Implications on the Blueline for the Flames

If Whitecloud has to miss a few games, the Flames are likely to call up prospect Hunter Brzustewicz at some point. The Flames would like to see what they have in their youngsters. Especially with the shift at the deadline to becoming a rebuilding team. Brzustewicz is the most likely due to his time up with the big club earlier in the season before the Olympic break. In 18 games with the Flames, he has two points while playing a predominately stay-at-home role while he learns the NHL game.

The Flames spent the majority of the game against the Hurricanes with five defencemen as Whitecloud did not return to the bench. It was announced midway through the third period that he would not return. The Flames ended up winning 5-4 over the Hurricanes in the end. However, the Flames ended up spreading the ice-time around the remaining blueliners. All five of them averaged around 20 minutes.

The Flames are currently sitting second to last in the Pacific Division, ahead of the Vancouver Canucks. Calgary has a record of 25-30-7 after the win and continue their insane winning streak when scoring four or more goals to 51 straight games.