5 Things - Flames @ Blackhawks - 26.03.24

1. Hitting The Road

And then there was 12.

After dropping a pair of games over the weekend, the Flames are looking to rebound as they head into the Windy City to kick off a two-game road swing with the regular-season schedule winding down.

Saturday saw them drop a 4-2 decision to the Canucks in Vancouver, followed by a 4-1 loss to the Sabres at the Scotiabank Saddledome Sunday, with the latter seeing Buffalo score three markers in the third period with two empty-net goals.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored the lone Flames marker on the powerplay, while Dustin Wolf was solid in goal, making 25 saves.

"We need to push to win hockey games,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska said after the tilt Sunday. “Whether you’re sitting in the standings where we would like to be right now or we’re not, or we’re in a situation that we are, we have to come and play hard all the time and that’s a responsibility that all players have.

“And for me, I get disappointed about these last two games moreso than anything because those were winnable games for us, and we didn’t find a way to get it done."

A quick turnaround on the road might just be what the doctor ordered for the Flames to break a three-game slide, with a current busy stretch of five games in eight days.

Gearing up for the third and final meeting against Chicago, the message echoed as of late is clear - leave it all out there.

"It's tough," Mikael Backlund said on the skid. "But, it's a new day tomorrow and we focus on the next game ... we're going to keep going in every game. Both games we were battling hard and competing and they were two tight games. We just haven't executed and that's what decides games.

"Just have to stick with it, not too many games left, we just got to go out and enjoy it."

2. Know Your Enemy

The Blackhawks are coming off an impressive 5-4 comeback overtime win over the San Jose Sharks Saturday night.

Trailing 4-0 in the second period, the home squad would scored twice in the middle stanza and another two in the third period to force the extra session. All it took was 18 seconds of free hockey as Seth Jones completed the comeback, scoring his second of the night.

Ryan Donato, Tyler Johnson and Philipp Kurashev provided the other markers, while Petr Mrázek picked up his 16th win of the campaign.

"Credit to them, they came and skated hard early and pressured us and we turned a lot of pucks over," Blackhawks bench boss Luke Richardson told NHL.com after the win. "I think once we got in our head in the middle of the second period [that] we had to get our feet moving and just play simple and chip pucks behind them and get to work, it started to turn in our favor."

The win marked the second in seven days over the Sharks and in turn has seen the Blackhawks leapfrog over them in the overall league standings.

Nevertheless, the win was just their 20th in 71 games in what has been a season of growth and learning for the rebuilding squad.

“It's been a tough year with the losing," rookie Connor Bedard said."But, I think for a lot of us it's about trying to grow and become closer and obviously push this thing forward."

3. Fast Facts

I know you:

Blake Coleman and Tyler Johnson were teammates during Tampa Bay’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021. Coleman (Game 2) and Johnson (Game 3) accounted for two of Tampa Bay’s four game winning goals against Montreal during the 2021 Final.

Last time out:

In the last meeting between the clubs, Jacob Markstrom turned aside all 32 shots he faced to earn his second shutout of the season. Markstrom recorded his sixth 30-plus save shutout with the Flames, with two goaltenders have as many with the franchise: Miikka Kiprusoff (17) and Dan Bouchard (8).

4. Quotable

Oliver Kylington On The Team Mindset:

"We play for each other, and as individuals. Everyone as individuals has to come to work and do their part, and we build that chemistry together and we go out and play for each other. It doesn’t matter where we are in the standings, and how everything looks, we have to go out and play for each other. That has to be there, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is."

5. Players To Watch

Flames – Jonathan Huberdeau

The winger scored his 10th marker of the season last game and heads into tonight’s clash with 26 points (4G, 22A) in 28 career games against Chicago. With 12 games left on the sked, Huberdeau is 11 assists away from hitting 500 in his career.

Blackhawks – Connor Bedard

Tonight will mark the first time the Flames face off against the rookie, as the 18-year-old missed the first two meetings due to injury. The 2023 first-overall pick has produced as advertised with 54 points 57 games, leading all rookies in goals (21), assists (34) and points (55).