5 THINGS - FLAMES @ CANUCKS

FLAMES (37-27-15) @ CANUCKS (35-36-7)

8 p.m. MT | TV: CBC/Sportsnet | RADIO: Sportsnet 960 The FAN

2022-23 Season Series: 2-0-1

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Guys Feed Off That' - Dube
Projected Lineup
Say What: 'Live In The Moment'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Tyler Toffoli (72)
Goals - Toffoli (34)
Canucks:
Points - Elias Pettersson (98)
Goals - Pettersson (37)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 20.0% (20th) / PK - 81.8% (9th)
Canucks:
PP - 22.3% (11th) / PK - 71.1% (32nd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 57.15% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 53.30% (12th)
Canucks:
Shot Attempts: 47.76% (24th)
High-Danger Chances: 47.66% (23rd)
###

1. NECK AND NECK
   Hyperbole?
   Hardly.
   With three games left and only a razor-thin margin separating the Flames from the eighth seed in the West, it's another 'must win' game as they chase down that coveted postseason berth.
   While the Flames would rather have their spot locked up, you can't help but admire the gumption of a team that - less than a month ago - was peering up at a deficit so large, a late-stage rally of this magnitude seemed next to impossible.
   Today, they sit even with the Jets at 89 points - with Winnipeg holding the all-important tie-breaker (regulation wins), along with what could be a pivotal game in hand.
   It's why, with the Flames turning their attention to Saturday's clash with the Vancouver Canucks, they likely have to run the table to give themselves a chance.
   "It really comes down to bringing your best, individually. And then if you bring your best, it contributes to the team," said defenceman MacKenzie Weegar. "I think, lately, it's been four lines and three pairs. You could even say it's been five lines and eight different defencemen that have been bringing it.
   "Everybody's contributing right now and that's how we have to keep this thing
   going."
   The Flames passed their latest test with flying colours, knocking off the Jets 3-1 in a heated, head-to-head battle on Wednesday in the Manitoba capital. They've now won five of their last six and are 10-4-2 in 16 games dating back to March 6.
   And, as Weegar alluded to, they're getting contributions from all over the lineup.
   Andrew Mangiapane, Walker Duehr and Nikita Zadorov scored in Winnipeg, while maybe their most important player of all in this race - Jacob Markstrom - was absolutely brilliant with 34 stops on the night.
   "We keep getting back up swinging," Markstrom said of a rollercoaster season. "We've been knocked down a few more times than I like, but we're in the situation that we are right now and we need to make the best of it the last few games here.
   "With the year we've had, it sure doesn't feel like we're still in it. I feel like we haven't played good. I haven't played good. And with three games left, we're tied - same points. To be in this situation, we have to try and take advantage of it with the year we've had.
   "Three games left and we've got to leave it all out there to have a chance at it."
   While Winnipeg has garnered most of the attention in this race (and rightfully so), don't forget about Nashville. They enter the day only one point behind the Flames with a game in hand, and are IN Winnipeg tonight before travelling to Calgary for Monday's matchup with the Flames.
   Wondering who to cheer for? Mathematically, a Nashville victory in regulation would be the best outcome for the Flames.

2. KNOW YOUR ENEMY
The Canucks are coming off a 3-0 win over the Blackhawks on Thursday to snap a four-game slide (0-2-2).
Andrei Kuzmenko, J.T. Miller and Vitali Kravtsov had the lamp-lighters, Akito Hirose had a pair of helpers, and Thatcher Demko made 33 saves to record his first shutout of the season.
Demko is now 9-4-2 with a .913 save percentage since returning from a months-long groin injury on Feb. 27.
"I try to stop them all every night," Demko told NHL.com. "It doesn't always work out that way, but it feels good. … I definitely want to make sure my last few starts on this stretch here are sharp."
In other news, blueliner Cole McWard made his NHL debut after signing a two-year entry-level contract on Tuesday. The 21-year-old recently completed his sophomore season at Ohio State University, recording 21 points (9G, 12A) in 39 games. He played 14:35 and had one blocked shot against the Hawks.
Tonight is Vancouver's last home game before finishing the season on a three-game road trip through LA, Anaheim and Arizona.
### 3. FAST FACTS
CAREER YEAR:
Mikael Backlund set up Andrew Mangiapane's goal on Wednesday, officially securing his 54th point of the season. Backlund's 54 points are a new career high, surpassing his previous best of 53, which he set during the 2016-17 season. Backlund's 18 tallies also put him just two shy of the 20-goal mark and is looking to achieve 20 goals in a campaign for the fourth time in his career (22 in 2016-17, 21 in 2015-16, and 21 in 2018-19). ... Backlund - who recorded his 300th career assist earlier this season - is now only 10 points away from 500 in his NHL career.
WALK THIS WAY:
Walker Duehr scored his seventh goal of the season on Wednesday in Winnipeg - a goal which held up as the game- winner. Two of Duehr's seven career goals have been GWG's, and he is currently tied for the fourth-most on the Flames this season. Duehr's pair of game-winning goals are tied for the fifth-most among rookies this season, and the only other American-born rookies to have more than him are Noah Cates (5) and Matty Beniers (4). The Flames are 5-0-1 when Duehr scores.

DID YOU KNOW?
With Wednesday's victory, Darryl Sutter has 830 combined regular-season and playoff victories, which moves him into eighth all-time among NHL head coaches.
Stick tap to Flames Public Relations Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes.
Follow him and the Flames PR team @NHLFlamesPR on Twitter for more.
### 4. PLAYERS TO WATCH
Flames - Rasmus Andersson
The workhorse blueliner is only one point away from matching his career high in points (50), which he set last season.
With it, he could become the first defenceman in franchise history to record back-to-back 50-point seasons since Dion Phaneuf in 2006-07 and 2007-08, and just the seventh defender in Flames history to do so.
Canucks - J.T. Miller
With his goal on Thursday, Miller now has 30 on the year - giving the Canucks four 30-goal scorers in the same season for the first time since 1992-93. Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko are the others off the current roster, while Bo Horvat tallied 31 in 49 games, before being traded to the New York Islanders earlier this year.
Miller also has three assists in his last five games, but has been quiet against the Flames this year, recording only a single helper in three head-to-head matchups so far.
### 5. QUOTABLE
Weegar on facing the Canucks tonight:
"I've been on the other side before. When a team comes in, you do want to spoil their playoff hopes. We expect their best. They've been playing great hockey and we saw it last time we played them. Just carry on from that Winnipeg game with that emotion, that urgency and compete level. We're going to need that in Vancouver.
"I think with the new coach (Rick Tocchet), there's a lot of guys on the other side who want to impress the coach or, you know, stay in the NHL. There's a lot riding for them, too, and a lot riding for us, so we expect the best from them."