5 THINGS - FLAMES @ BRUINS
The Flames close out a three-game trip tonight in Beantown
Video: We get you set for tonight's tilt in Beantown
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'A Special Thing' - Lucic
Projected Lineup
Say What: 'Lots To Get Motivated For'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2021-22 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Nazem Kadri (12)
Goals - Nazem Kadri (7)
Bruins:
Points - David Pastrnak (20)
Goals - David Pastrnak (8)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 23.1% (14th) / PK - 80.0% (13th)
Bruins:
PP - 26.7% (7th) / PK - 93.3% (1st)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 54.41% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 53.77% (10th)
Bruins:
Shot Attempts: 52.45% (9th)
High-Danger Chances: 55.90% (4th)
He might be new to the Flames locker-room, but MacKenzie Weegar has always had his finger on the pulse.
So, it should come as no surprise that the cerebral D man could step up and evaluate the state of his team with such poise.
"Times are tough right now," Weegar said of the team's latest loss - a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Devils on Tuesday in Jersey. "It's easy to get frustrated or hang our heads and put the blame on someone else, but we've all got to be better.
"It's just another one that slipped away. We've got to put a stop to it. And the only ones that are going to put a stop to it is ourselves.
"We've got too good of guys in this dressing room to let these games slip, myself included.
"We've got to find a way to get out of this."
The Flames have now dropped six in a row (0-4-2) and are back to .500 after the hottest start in franchise history. Worse? Already without Chris Tanev and Michael Stone, the NHL's reigning assist leader - Jonathan Huberdeau - is now on the shelf, too.
Officially, Huberdeau is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. However, Head Coach Darryl Sutter revealed in his postgame press conference that there may be another affliction at play, adding to the uncertainty of when he'll return.
"He couldn't get his foot in his skate this morning," Sutter explained. "So, he was deemed not available."
With Huberdeau on the sidelines, Adam Ruzicka drew into the lineup and replaced No. 10 on the top line and first powerplay unit. He was instrumental in Tyler Toffoli's tying goal in the third period, setting an impeccable net-front screen on Vitek Vanecek.
Nazem Kadri had Calgary's other goal - also on the powerplay - and Jacob Markstrom stopped 17 of 20 in a losing effort.
"In all these games we've lost, count how many times we've been outshot," Kadri said. "It might be once. We're doing some good things, we're generating some opportunities. We're catching some unfortunate breaks, but we've just got to clean up some areas.
"At the end of the day, frustration is going to get you nowhere. It's just going to dig you a deeper hole.
"I believe in the guys in here and we're just going to have to dig in."
This is the final stop on a three-game road trip for the Flames, who had the day off Wednesday after back-to-back games in the New York area. And with the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins waiting on the other side, fresh legs are a must.
"It's not like we're out of these games," Weegar said. "We're right there. It's so close. It's just a matter of staying with it.
"Throughout games, you're going to face adversity. We're facing adversity right now.
"When we get through this, we've got to keep it going and not fall back into this thing. When we do get out of it, I'm sure good things are going to come. We've got too good of guys in this dressing room to have a record like this."
Video: "It was a hard fought game"
They're hot. Real hot.
The Bruins are coming off a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Monday, improving to 11-2-0 on the year.
Jake DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron and Trent Frederic all scored, while Linus Ullmark stopped all but one as the B's outshot the Blues 37-27.
With the win, the Bruins remained undefeated at home (7-0-0). According to Eric Russo of Boston Bruins.com, this is just the second streak of seven-or-more home wins to begin the season in team history, to go along with an 8-0-0 start in 1983-84.
"I think good teams do that (play well at home)," Frederic - who scored the insurance marker in the third period - told Russo. "It's fun playing at TD (Garden). I feel like we've always got a packed crowd. It's like a Saturday every night. It's easy for us."
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS: Through 12 games this season, the Flames have averaged 36.9 shots per game, which is the fourth-most in the NHL (as of Nov. 9), and the second-most among teams that have played 12 games. Calgary has also allowed the fifth-fewest shots against this season with an average of 28.2 per game.
DENNIS DEBUT: After getting recalled from the AHL's Calgary Wranglers on Nov. 6, Dennis Gilbert made his Flames debut Tuesday, logging more than 11 minutes of ice time. He made an immediate impact in the game by recording two shots on goal and winning a fight with Devils forward Nathan Bastian in his first 2:19 of ice time. The 26-year-old joined the Flames organization this past July and played in eight games with the Wranglers before being tapped for NHL duty. Tuesday was his first NHL game since Feb. 16, 2021, when he was a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. In 25 career games at the big-league level, Gilbert has a goal, two assists and 50 penalty minutes.
DID YOU KNOW? Nazem Kadri (225G, 298A, 523P in 750GP) needs two assist to become the seventh member of the 2009 NHL Draft to reach the 300-assist milestone.
Video: CGY@NJD: Kadri rifles a shot into the net for a PPG
Stick tap to Flames Communications Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes.
Follow the Flames PR team @FlamesPR on Twitter for more.
Flames - Milan Lucic
Nights like these are what the Big Man lives for.
Lucic is making only his seventh trip to the Garden as a member of the opposition, after spending his first eight seasons - and winning a Cup - in Beantown.
He has a goal and three helpers in six career games in Boston.
Video: "Obviously it's a big game for us"
Bruins - David Pastrnak
Pastrnak is on a heater to start the year, leading the Bruins with 20 points (8G, 12A) in his first 12 games to put him fourth in league scoring.
Always a threat with that remarkable skill off the half wall, Pastrnak is averaging more than five-and-a-half shots per game.
Weegar on the mood (and mindset) in the locker-room right now:
"We've got a great leadership group. I think we've talked about that a lot. Guys that have won. Guys that have gone through tough times and come out of it. Just staying positive, staying with it. Once you start hanging your head and putting too much blame on yourself and being too hard on yourself, that's just going to make it worse."
Weegar on loss of Huberdeau:
"You never want to see a buddy, a friend or a teammate miss games because they're injured. But Jonny's a tough kid and he'll be back soon."
Kadri on snapping the skid:
"Nobody's quitting in here. We're going to grind ourselves out."
Sutter on losing these close games:
"We had a lot of chances. Right through our lineup, I think those two kids (Adam Ruzicka and Dennis Gilbert) gave us a good bump and we had a lot of good chances. … It's not about the effort. I don't question the effort. It's about the execution."
