5 THINGS - FLAMES @ CANADIENS

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pre-Game Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'He's Ready To Go'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan (7)
Goals - Gaudreau (4)
Canadiens:
Points - Tyler Toffoli (8)
Goals - Toffoli (5)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 33.0% (6th) / PK - 83.3% (12th)
Canadiens:
PP - 26.1% (12th) / PK - 78.6% (15th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 54.52% (5th)
High-Danger Chances: 51.9% (12th)
Canadiens:
Shot Attempts: 54.71% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 58.33% (5th)

1. US

Two recent games against the Maple Leafs.
Two losses.
Both by just a single goal.
In Sunday's tilt at the Scotiabank Saddledome, it was bad bounces that sunk the Flames in a 3-2 loss.
In Tuesday's 4-3 defeat, it was a bad first period that was the difference.
Outshot 10-1 and trailing 2-0, the Flames poured it on though over the final 40, outshooting the Leafs 18-5 in the middle stanza and tying up the game in the third period before Mitch Marner scored the game winner with around eight minutes left in the tilt.
"We have to start on time and the second thing, for us, everything that we do has to come from the fact that we can check," said coach Geoff Ward after. "You can't give up four goals in this league regularly and expect to win games. We have to be committed and mindful of the fact that we have to be really good away from the puck, especially against teams that are dangerous. ... As a result, we end up on the short end."
The good news right now for the team?
They've shown resiliency and poise, battling back with no lead against them right now seeming insurmountable.
Their potent powerplay (see stats above) is clippping along.
Off-season acquistion Jacob Markstrom has been stellar between the pipes.
And the Dynamic Duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan have been lighting it up, sitting tied for the team lead in points with seven apiece.
Gaudreau is coming off a two-goal performance in the Tuesday loss, while Monahan had a pair of assists. In the game prior, Gaudreau got a helper on Monahan's tally.
The two look in-sync and have been creating plenty of high-quality scoring chances to go with the pucks that have found the back of the net.
Monahan said they will learn from their recent setbacks and strive to avoid the same pratfalls on this five-game road trip.
"It's just simplicity," he explained post-game on Tuesday. "When you start off a game, we've got to do a better job of getting pucks in and getting on our forecheck. When we do that and are turning pucks over, that's when you generate momentum. We did that in the second and third, but we want to do that early in games. ... That's when you start rolling with your momentum."

2. THEM

The Habs have certainly come out of the gate strong this season.
They currently lead the Scotia North Division with an impressive +11 goal differential.
They opened with a 5-4 OT loss to the Leafs, then beat the Oilers 5-1 and 3-1 before suffering another OT loss to the Canucks, then following that up with a pair of wins against Vancouver: 7-3 and 5-2.
All those games, it's worth noting, were on the road.
This will be their first tilt at home in the Bell Centre, which can usually pack in more than 21,000 fans.
"(Playing at home) was a challenge for us at times last season, but we have a better team this year," coach Claude Julien told theMontreal Gazette. "There's no hiding the fact teams love coming to play in Montreal. A lot of that was because of the atmosphere. It's exciting to play in Montreal. At some point, I was part of the group that was the visitor here and I know about the feeling. It's important for us to have a good start tomorrow."
The Habs struggled at home last season and after their torrid start this campaign, they want to make sure they can keep that momentum going.
"We have to play the same way we did on the road," said former Flame Paul Byron on Canadiens.com. "Every game will probably be similar this year because there aren't any fans. We have to play the same way every game. We have to continue to be good on special teams. That's really important in our game. It's a new year and we have a chance to compile a better record at home."

3. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames -Johnny Gaudreau
Pretty hard to pick anyone else right now. No. 13 is using his skating and superb hockey IQ to control play, showing off his deft passing - as usual - along with his penchant for scoring big goals.
Canadiens -Tyler Toffoli
Much like Gaudreau above, Toffoli has been the standout on this Habs team. Signed to a four-year deal as a free agent in October, Toffoli had six goals and 10 points with the Canucks last season after being dealt from the Kings, where he put up 18 goals and 34 points in 58 games prior.

4. DID YOU KNOW?

After enjoying five days between games last week, tonight marks the first of 20 games the Flames will play in the next 39 days.

5. QUOTABLE

"Winning battles, moving our feet, being first on pucks - that's what's going to give us success. Especially against a team like Montreal, the reason they only have one OT loss is because they out-work teams, they're first on pucks, they beat you on their will and their hard work. We're going to have to bring what we brought into that one what we had in the second and third periods tonight."
- Milan Lucicon the game plan against Habs