Pospisil demoted as Flames change up lines

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Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil is going to have to dig deep to get back into the good graces of his head coach.

Ryan Huska didn’t hide his frustration with Pospisil following Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The 24-year-old took an offensive zone penalty midway through the third period that led to the Oilers’ game-winning goal.

“We’ll do our best to coach that out of him, there’s different ways you can do that,” Ryan Huska said postgame. “A lot of that is on the player. That’s twice now. It’s not OK.”

Now, after having spent plenty of time in the top six this season, the young Flames forward finds himself in a fourth-line role tonight versus the Montreal Canadiens.

Pospisil had been playing alongside Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary one game ago, a spot which has now been taken over by Andrei Kuzmenko. The second and third lines will remain the same, though there is one more change on the fourth.

After sitting the past two games as a healthy scratch, Justin Kirkland will draw back in tonight. The 28-year-old has a goal and five points in nine games this season. He’ll replace Kevin Rooney, who had 10:55 minutes in ice time on Sunday versus the Oilers.

The back end will also remain the same, meaning Tyson Barrie will suit up for a fourth-straight game, while Jake Bean will remain a healthy scratch.

Dustin Wolf, who watched the past two games from the bench, will draw the start tonight. The 23-year-old has had a relatively good start to the season, posting a 3.19 goals against average (GAA) along with a .907 save percentage (SV%) through five starts.

Puck drop in tonight’s outing is set for 5 pm MT.

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