5 THINGS - FLAMES @ CANUCKS

FLAMES (0-0-0) vs. CANUCKS (0-0-0)

US

The Flames open their 38th NHL season tonight with a road date against the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames, who went 4-3-3 in the pre-season, will have five players (James Neal, Austin Czarnik, Derek Ryan, Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin), as well as a new head coach (Bill Peters) all making their Flames debuts tonight … Johnny Gaudreau led the Flames in scoring last year, notching a career-high 24 goals and 84 points in 80 regular-season contests. Sean Monahan, who missed the final eight games of the season due to injury, led the team in goals with 31 … The Flames are 13-21-11 all-time in season-openers.

THEM

The Canucks are officially in rebuild territory. After a disappointing 31-win, 73-point campaign, and with Daniel and Henrik Sedin out of the picture for the first time in nearly two decades, things are going to look a lot different this year on the West Coast. The youth movement is in full swing, with 23-year-old Bo Horvat and Calder runner-up Brock Boeser leading the charge up front, Swedish rookie Elias Pettersson entering the fold, and Vancouver greenhorns Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel looking to provide a calming, veteran presence among a batch of youngsters … Following tonight's game, the Canucks hit the road for one of their longest and most difficult jaunts of the season, with stops in Calgary for the Scotiabank Home Opener, Tampa, Pittsburgh and Winnipeg highlighting a six-game gauntlet … The Canucks finished the pre-season with a 1-6-0 record.

US VS. THEM

This is the first of five meetings between these two teams this year … The Flames took three of the four meetings last year, including both at Rogers Arena by a combined score of 11-3. Calgary's lone blemish was a 5-3 loss at home on Nov. 7, despite the Flames outshooting their divisional counterparts 32-21. Matthew Tkachuk (3G, 2A) and Sam Bennett (2G, 3A) had five points each to lead the Flames offensively in the four head-to-head matchups… In the pre-season, the Flames beat the Canucks twice in two tries - 4-1 at Rogers Arena, and 5-2 the Scotiabank Saddledome three days later.

THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

THIS: Of the 23 players on Calgary's opening-night roster, nine are Flames draft picks: Dillon Dube, Juuso Valimaki, Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund, Mark Jankowski and TJ Brodie. … THAT: Dube recently switched from No. 59 to No. 29. Dube becomes the 15th player in Flames history to don the number and the first since Deryk Engelland, who wore it from 2014 to 2017. Fellow rookie Valimaki will go from No. 42 to No. 8. He becomes the 22nd player to rep it. … THE OTHER:Gaudreau made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal on Apr. 13, 2014 against the Canucks at Rogers Arena.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Elias Lindholm
Coaches, writers and fans alike are understandably curious to see how Monahan, Gaudreau and newcomer Lindholm perform in their first regular-season game together. Throughout the pre-season, Lindholm - a speedy, natural centre with great hands and a sharp defensive acumen - saw the most action alongside the Flames' top duo, and will start the season there after a strong exhibition calendar. The 23-year-old, who was acquired in a draft-day trade with the Carolina Hurricanes, tallied six points (2G, 4A) in five pre-season games. As the year progresses, Lindholm and former 40-goal man James Neal will likely share time on the top line, but for now, Lindholm's the guy.
Canucks - Elias Pettersson
Pettersson, the fifth-overall pick in the 2017 draft, will make his NHL debut on a line with Nikolay Goldobin and veteran Loui Eriksson. As a teenager, he annihilated the Swedish Hockey League last year, winning the MVP, playoff MVP and league scoring titles with 24 goals and 56 points, making him the SHL's all-time single-season scoring leader among players under the age of 20. Pettersson appeared in five pre-season games with the Canucks this fall, notching one goal and six points to lead his team in exhibition scoring. The 6-foot-2, 176-lb. pivot is an early favourite for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie, and could become Vancouver's next franchise centre with Henrik Sedin, along with his brother Daniel, now retired.