NHL

It was the eighth straight game that Babchuk has watched a Flames game from the press box. He has five assists in only 17 NHL games this season and had also been out of action earlier in the season with a hand injury so we cannot recommend him at all the rest of the way.

Karlsson is down on the farm with Abbotsford of the AHL on a conditioning stint as he is recovering from a torn MCL that occurred in early December. The netminder was plowed into the net early in the game by Bryan Helmer of the Barons who took a penalty on the play but continued and went the rest of the way. "It's fine, it didn't hurt, so no problem," Karlsson stated in regard to the collision. "It's nice to be back on the ice, but it's never fun losing. We have a good chance now on Saturday to play better than this because I think we were sloppy as a team and I also can play better. So we have to regroup and do it better on Saturday." Karlsson will be recalled within 10 days but do not expect him to play a lot as Miikka Kiprusoff will go the majority of the time as the Flames hunt down a playoff spot.

The last time the youngster saw the ice was Jan .5 against the Boston Bruins when he allowed six goals on 21 shots, so this was certainly an encouraging performance. Irving has a 1-1-3 record with a 3.26 goals-against average and .915 save percentage on the year. Expect Miikka Kiprusoff to get long string of starts in the near future, especially with the Flames fighting for a playoff spot.

At this point, there's no way the center should be available in any leagues. Jokinen has five goals in the last four games and 11 points in his last eight to give him 17 goals and 29 assists on the year. The Finn has pretty much been a point-per-game player since December. Mark Giordano and Scott Hannan set up the goal.

The decision was made on Wednesday after it was announced that Miikka Kiprusoff would be starting that contest. Kipper won his 300th career game that night. Irving owns a 1-1-2 record in four appearances this season.

Jokinen is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. "If they decide a deal today, I'm OK. If they decide a deal at the end of June, I'm OK. If they decide a deal July 1, I'm OK. Whatever (the Flames) think is best for them, they will do," Jokinen said. "Some guys don't want to think about a deal, but I've been around enough to know my job is to play my best every day. It's not a distraction to me. For some guys, it could be a distraction, but my main focus is to try to bring it every night." Jokinen has 31 points in his last 30 games and he might reach the 70-point mark for the first time since 2007-08. He currently comes with a $3 million cap hit, but we wouldn't be surprised if he gets a significant raise.

Cammalleri has been skating on Calgary's top power-play unit, which has done very well since the Flames acquired him in mid-January. Cammalleri hasn't exactly turned his season around since joining Calgary, but he's worth keeping an eye on as long as he's playing a critical role for Calgary with the man advantage.