5 THINGS - FLAMES @ AVALANCHE
Two of the top teams on the circuit square off in Denver
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's tilt
NEED-TO-KNOW
ONLINE 50/50
Purchase your online 50/50 tickets for a chance at some big cash!
GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Heavyweight Battle on Tap
COMING SOON: Projected Lineup
Say What - 'It's a Huge Test'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
WANT TO WIN SOME CASH?!
https://www.nhl.com/flames/community/50-50
Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (68)
Goals - Andrew Mangiapane (29)
Avalanche:
Points - Nazem Kadri (68)
Goals - Gabriel Landeskog (29)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 22.7% (10th) / PK - 84.8% (4th)
Avalanche:
PP - 22.5% (11th) / PK - 78.0% (20th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.58% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 56.30% (2nd)
Avalanche:
Shot Attempts: 53.58% (5th)
High-Danger Chances: 52.02% (11th)
Put it in the rearview mirror and focus on the road ahead. That has been the mantra of the Flames all season following a loss.
Calgary is coming off a 5-4 overtime setback Thursday night to the visiting Canadiens that snapped a franchise-tying 11-game win streak at home.
Blake Coleman, Johnny Gaudreau, Andrew Mangiapane and Elias Lindholm scored for Calgary, while Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves in the outing.
The Flames scored first in the game, as has often been the case this season, and led 3-2 after two.
The Habs scored two in the third setting up a nailbiting finish, Lindholm scoring with 28 seconds left and Markstrom on the bench for the extra attacker. Ben Chiarot would get his second of the night early in overtime to salt it away.
But that was then, this is now.
That road in front of them has led to Denver, for a heavyweight battle between the top two teams in the Western Conference. It's the first of three meetings between the teams this campaign.
It's the type of game that makes fans salivate.
Both clubs have heavily outscored the competition this year, with the Avs boasting a league-best +64 goal differential and the Flames sitting at +56.
The Avs have been on a heater this season.
Their 84 points in 55 games has them six clear of the Hurricanes for top spot in the league.
But in their last outing on Thursday, they were clipped 2-1 by the Coyotes in Glendale. After a scoreless first, Devon Toews put the visitors ahead in the second before Loui Eriksson scored late in the frame to tie it up. Nick Schmaltz would score the game-winner 5:27 into the third.
Colorado outshot Arizona 43-29, with Pavel Francouz taking the loss between the pipes.
It was Colorado's first regulation loss in a one-goal game (12-0-4) and when scoring first this season (30-0-3).
"They played us hard and played stingy in all the games we played against them," Colorado coach Jared Bednar told NHL.com's Alan Robinson. "They played us tough. You've got to give them credit. They're improving as a team as the year goes on, and I did not think we took them lightly.
"You want to win them all, you want to get after them, but on this particular night, we just didn't do enough to win the hockey game. And their goaltender made a big difference for them."
Mikko Rantanen, who sits second in team scoring with 65 points, took the loss in stride.
"I don't think we were bad today," said Rantanen. "We had some breakdowns that caused a couple of goals, and that's the hockey game.We had some really good chances. We could have easily scored on a good night probably six goals, but that's hockey."
JOHNNY FRANCHISE:Johnny Gaudreau notched a goal in the Flames 5-4 overtime loss to the Canadiens, tying him with Kent Nilsson for the sixth-most points (562) in franchise history. Johnny now trails Gary Suter (564) by two points for the fifth-most points in Flames history as he approaches 70 points on the season, the fourth time in his career he can notch 70+ points in a campaign.
IN-AND-OUT: This is a quick trip for the Flames who will return home after tonight's game against the Avalanche. This game marks six games in nine days for the Flames as they will play five games next week starting with a home back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers and Washington Capitals at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Flames next road game will be back at Ball Arena on March 13 to end this stretch of six games in nine days.
LINDY'S ON FIRE: Elias Lindholm (10-8-18) extended his home point streak Thursday to 12 games - surpassing Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgeni Malkin (both w/ 11 GP) for the longest run of any player this season.
Flames - Andrew Mangiapane
He's the Road Warrior with 21 goals in 29 games away from the Scotiabank Saddledome. He has potted six on the powerplay and added five assists for good measure. He has two goals and five points in two games so far in March.
Avalanche - Cale Makar
The Calgary native has been nothing short of stellar since entering the league. He sits third in team scoring with 18 goals and 59 points, including five game-winners.
Sean Monahan has 20 points (7G, 13A) in 20 career games against the Colorado Avalanche while Matthew Tkachuk has 13 points (2G, 11A) in 12 career meetings with the Avs. Mikael Backlund has 27 points (10G, 17A) in 31 career games against Colorado.
