5 THINGS - FLAMES @ CANUCKS

FLAMES (46-21-7; 99 PTS) at VANCOUVER CANUCKS (32-32-10; 74 PTS)

>> RELATED: SCENE OF THE CRIME
>> RELATED: PROJECTED LINEUP
>> RELATED: SAY WHAT

US

The Flames are coming off a 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, and as a result, enter this all-Canadian contest with a four-point lead - and a game in hand - on the San Jose Sharks in the race for the division title. The line of Derek Ryan, Andrew Mangiapane and Garnet Hathaway led the charge for the homeside, accounting for two of the five goals and combining for six points in the victory. Matthew Tkachuk (1G, 1A) and Michael Frolik (2) had multi-point efforts, Mark Giordano and Mikael Backlund each had goals, and Mike Smith made 18 saves to his record his 20th win of the season. "The whole game I thought they were awesome," Tkachuk said of the Ryan trio. "They're working really hard on the forecheck and they force other teams to turn pucks over all the time. Time and time again, the longer the season goes, the better they've gotten. On any given night, any line can be our best line. And they were definitely our best line tonight." … Sam Bennett - who returned Thursday after missing two games with an upper-body injury - left the game late in the second period and did not return with something of the same variety. Head coach Bill Peters did not have an update on the forward's condition after the game. … James Nealcould draw back into the lineup after missing 18 games with an upper-body injury. The veteran has been a full participant during practice all week, and Peters confirmed the 10-time 20-goal scorer will return either tonight, or Monday against the LA Kings. … Late Thursday, the Flames re-assigned forward Curtis Lazar to the Stockton Heat. Lazar was an emergency recall and had to be sent back down as a result of Bennett and Sean Monahan returning. Alan Quine (a regular recall) remains on the roster and is currently the Flames' 13th forward. … The starting goaltender has yet to be announced.

THEM

The Canucks have won three straight and four of their last five (4-0-1), and are hanging in the wild-card race, five points back of the Minnesota Wild with eight games left. The Canucks reeled off a 7-4 win over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, with Tanner Pearson (2), Bo Horvat, Jake Virtanenand Brock Boeser staking the homeside out to a commanding 5-0 lead, before the Senators pushed back and scored four straight to make it a one-goal game late in the third. Horvat and Loui Eriksson then scored 27 seconds apart with under a minute-and-a-half to play, giving the Canucks a much-needed victory to keep pace with those around them. ... While the Canucks are 'only' five points out, three other teams - the Colorado Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks - stand between them and the final playoff spot, giving them only a 1.6% chance of making it, according to
sportsclubstats.com
. … The Canucks could be getting a boost up front, with the possible return of former Flame Sven Baertschi. The Swiss forward suffered a concussion way back on Oct. 24, returned for 12 games around the bye week, but was feeling unwell after a game against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 2 and was then diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. He's been absent ever since - the totality of the two breaks limiting him to only 22 games this season. "He's an option now," Vancouver coach Travis Green

. "We'll see. I want to put him in when the time's right and it makes sense for our team." Baertschi, who has eight goals and 13 points in his quarter-season of action, said Friday the symptoms have long passed and that he's been feeling good for several weeks now. … Meanwhile, top prospect Quinn Hughes - who signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canucks back on Mar. 10 - will have to wait a while longer to make his NHL debut. The seventh pick in the 2018 Draft suffered an ankle injury in an NCAA playoff game with the University of Michigan Wolverines earlier this month. Hughes had an MRI that revealed no structural damage upon arriving in Vancouver, but additional testing in the form of a CT scan was levied as a backup measure in case a crack/fracture/break was missed the first time. "CT scan was negative," Green said. "It's what we originally thought. He's got a pretty bad bone bruise and he'll skate when he can." Hughes, 19, played two seasons in Michigan, racking up 62 points (10G, 52A) in 69 games. … Jacob Markstrom, who's 27-20-9, along with a .913 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average, is likely to get the start in goal.

US VS. THEM

This is the fifth and final meeting between these two teams. The Flames are 1-1-2 so far, losing 5-2 on opening night at Rogers Arena, winning 7-4 at the Scotiabank Saddledome 48 hours later, and dropping the past two in overtime and a shootout to collect four of a possible eight points. … Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk lead the Flames in head-to-head scoring, notching five points (1G, 4A) each. … The Flames are 3-for-23 (13%) on the powerplay against the Canucks this year, and 3-for-16 (81.2%) on the penalty kill.

THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

THIS: Derek Ryan recorded his 100th and 101st career points with a pair of helpers in Thursday's victory over the Senators. He now has nine goals and 32 points this year. Most impressively, 'Doc' leads the Flames in P/60 (points per 60 minutes of ice time) since the all-star break with an astonishing 3.41 in 5-on-5 situations (13 points with an average of 9:56 per game in even-strength ice time). Matthew Tkachuk is second (2.60), followed by Austin Czarnik (2.46), Andrew Mangiapane(2.40) and Mikael Backlund (2.36). ... THAT: The Flames collected their 18th short-handed goal of the season, courtesy of captain Mark Giordano, in Thursday's win. Eighteen is the most the Flames have had in a single season since the 1987-88 campaign, when they scored an incredible 23 - the most ever in franchise history. Giordano, himself, has four, and in doing so has become the first defenceman to score four short-handed goals in a single season since Nicklas Lidstrom in 1999-2000. ... THE OTHER: The Flames currently sit in a tie for third for the most wins in franchise history with 46 victories on the year. The Stanley Cup-winning 1988-89 edition holds the franchise record with 54.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Andrew Mangiapane
Mangiapane has goals in back-to-back goals, three in his last six, and has given his line with Derek Ryan and Garnet Hathaway a new dimension offensively. "Mangy, even if he didn't score as much as he's projected to, he's a good player because of his pace," said head coach Bill Peters. "He gives whatever line he's on pace. He's good defensively, he's not a liability, he comes to the rink and cares. To me, he gets better all the time."
Canucks - Elias Pettersson
Pettersson set a new franchise record for most points in a rookie season (61) with an assist on Mar. 18 at Chicago, surpassing Pavel Bure and Ivan Hlinka, who previously held the record with 60 points each. Pettersson not only leads his team, but all rookies in goals (27), assists (36), points (63), powerplay goals (9), powerplay points (19), game-winning goals (7), and points per game (1.00).