Firebirds make only trip to Ottawa

The Ottawa 67’s (16-26-3-5) are set for their final clash of the season. with the Flint Firebirds (21-24-2-3) on Sunday afternoon inside The Arena at TD Place. Great tickets are still available here. Puck drop is at 2 p.m.

Everything you need to know about your afternoon at Lansdowne can be found here. For those unable to attend, you can see all of the action on Rogers TV and CHLTV, or hear Kenny Walls’ call on TSN 1200.

The Barber Poles are coming off a pair of losses in their home-and-home series with the Oshawa Generals, most recently a 5-2 loss on the road. Matthew Mayich scored Ottawa’s lone marker in the home leg, and Chris Barlas and Nathan Amidovski scored both of the 67’s goals in about 50 seconds in Oshawa.

Ottawa is currently without their three top goal scorers, missing Cooper Foster due to injury, and Luca Pinelli and Will Gerrior to suspension. Without so much manpower, they’re looking to pull themselves back into a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Flint is in a playoff fight of their own, though it’s a little more comfortable than what the 67’s are experiencing. Currently in sixth place in the Western Conference, the Firebirds have a seven-point cushion over the ninth-place Owen Sound Attack.

The Firebirds have a win and a loss on the weekend, taking down the Peterborough Petes on Thursday 7-2, but falling to the Kingston Frontenacs 3-1 on Friday night.

In their only other meeting this season, Flint scored an 8-1 win during Ottawa’s league-long nine-game road trip.

By the numbers

Keys to the game

• Source

Ottawa is without their three top goal-scorers this afternoon, so someone else is going to have to step up and do it.

• On “Cue”

Sam McCue has been on fire since moving to Flint — the 67’s need to mark him tightly.

• Water hose

Slow down the pace, and take the air out of the game if needed. Frustrating the opposition is an upper hand the 67’s could really use.