5 THINGS - FLAMES @ OILERS
The Battle of Alberta reignites on Hockey Night in Canada
Video: Alanna Nolan sets up tonight's Battle of Alberta
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Alanna Nolan
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Hard-Fought Game' - Flames ready
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'Wear Them Down'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2021-22 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (43)
Goals - Andrew Mangiapane (18)
Oilers:
Points - Leon Draisaitl (54)
Goals - Draisaitl (26)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 22.6% (11th) / PK - 84.6% (5th)
Oilers:
PP - 29.4% (3rd) / PK - 77.5% (22nd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 53.57% (5th)
High-Danger Chances: 53.55% (8th)
Oilers:
Shot Attempts: 51.81% (11th)
High-Danger Chances: 48.14% (20th)
It was a step in the right direction.
A big one, at that.
But the Flames - while proud of their effort in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Panthers - aren't getting ahead of themselves.
They know that it won't matter in the long run unless they build on it for the next one.
"Obviously, it creates a better mood and a more positive mindset… especially when you've got a couple days to live with the result," said Milan Lucic. "We obviously didn't like our effort against Florida IN Florida, so sometimes it's nice to play the team that kind of beat you bad in the next couple games, so we were motivated for that one."
It was, arguably, their tidiest effort of the season.
They delivered (in a big way) offensively, buckled down in their own end, dominated on special teams, and got elite goaltending from Jacob Markstrom, who finished with 28 saves.
Johnny Gaudreau led the charge up front, tying a career-high with four assists. Sean Monahan scored twice, while Blake Coleman and Rasmus Andersson rounded out the offence.
The win snapped a four-game slide for the locals, who will now play three of their next four games away from the Scotiabank Saddledome.
"Mainly, we were worried about us," Lucic said of Tuesday's dub over the league's top-ranked team. "We wanted to get our game back on track. We spent a lot of time watching video and practicing and getting our game back on track. Obviously, it was a step in the right direction and now we need to take another step (tonight)."
The Flames will have no trouble getting up for this one.
These bitter archrivals haven't met since opening night - three months and 35 games ago.
It's been a long wait.
But nothing gets the competitive fire burning hotter than a primetime clash on Hockey Night in Canada.
"It's great," Lucic said. "I still always say, 'Who wants to get that towel in the first intermission?! So, let's go have a good start to the game.' I've been fortunate enough to get a pretty good collection of HNIC towels. ... You always picture yourself and want to be in those games and even, like you said, my 15th year as a 33-year-old, I still enjoy it very much and hope I get to play in a lot more moving forward."
Video: Get hyped for another tilt with the Oil
It ain't pretty.
The Oilers are in a freefall, losing a season-high seven straight games and 13 of their last 15 overall dating back to Dec. 3.
In that span, they rank dead-last in a number of categories, including goals-against per game (4.13), team save percentage (.865), goal differential (-27) and penalty kill (63.0%).
It's a stunning reversal, considering that prior to this tumultuous tumble, they were atop the league standings with a 16-5-0 record out of the chute.
The latest, a 6-0 loss to the Florida Panthers, underscored the struggles that have plagued the team for the past eight weeks:
Truly, that's what it boils down to.
The Oilers have actually been a solid possession team in that span, sitting seventh in Corsi-For percentage with 53.34% of the shot volume (5v5), but they've been unable to penetrate the high-danger areas of the ice.
That, combined with their ongoing goaltending issues, have led them here.
At a crossroads.
Still, Flames Head Coach Darryl Sutter expects nothing short of a battle tonight when the two squads lock horns.
"They are one of the favourites, clearly," he said. "If you did this division in the summer, and I did … I did it as a fan before I came here, and the best two teams were Vegas and Edmonton. The next teams that are coming are Vancouver and LA, because of the young guys, right? If there is anybody that should be higher up, it's Vancouver, because they have all the young talent. So, the way I looked at it in the summer, and I still look at it … You get 1-2-3 (playoff teams), right? And I think that Vegas and Edmonton were the teams that should be 1-2, and then we're all fighting for that third spot."
Former Lucic can sense the frustration up north. He's lived it, burning the wick at both ends, from contender to cellar-dweller in his three years in Edmonton.
"When things are good, things are good. And when things are bad, things are bad," he explained. "I think it gets isolated because people live and breathe the Oilers in Edmonton, so everything gets magnified and all that type of stuff. ... But all good teams in an 82-game schedule go through a tough time and they're in one right now,
"But for me, we're just trying to get things going in the right direction here in Calgary, so my focus is all on that."
Some quick hits from up the QEII: The Oilers are currently without forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (undisclosed) and Zach Hyman (COVID-19), as well as goaltender Stuart Skinner (COVID-19) and former Flame Mike Smith (thumb).
JOHNNY BE GOOD: Johnny Gaudreau matched a single-game career high with four assists in Tuesday's victory, a feat he first achieved on Feb. 21, 2017. It was the 10th four-point game of his NHL career. The only players in franchise history with more are Kent Nilsson (31x), Theo Fleury (21x), Jarome Iginla (20x), Joe Nieuwendyk (16x), Al MacInnis (14x) and Guy Chouinard (12x).
CENTURY IN REACH: Andrew Mangiapane recorded an assist on Blake Coleman's first-period goal Tuesday, giving him 99 career points. Mangiapane still leads the Flames with 18 goals this season, and now has four assists for 22 points, overall. The 25-year-old has 61 goals and 38 assists for those 99 points in 213 NHL games.
ON THE WESTERN FRONT: The Flames are 3-4-1 against the Pacific Division this season and 5-5-3 against Western Conference opponents.
Video: Get hyped for another tilt with the Oil
Flames - Jacob Markstrom
Markstrom snapped a personal two-game slide with Tuesday's victory, and enters the game tonight with a 13-8-5 record, along with a .926 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average.
He is 13-12-2 lifetime against the Oilers,
Oilers - Connor McDavid
McDavid is pointless in his last three games, but has never had a dry spell last longer than this.
Will tonight be a fourth for the first time in his career?
The 25-year-old is one point back of Leon Draisaitl for the team lead with 53 points (19G, 34A) in 35 games.
Milan Lucic on reviving his career in Calgary:
"I've said this all along, I've really enjoyed being a Flame and being in Calgary, not just here in the organization, but in the city as well. Everyone's been very welcoming since I've been here. I just love the game of hockey and love being a part of a team and when you have a lot of guys that look up to you and depend on you, you do your best to not let them down. You want to be a good teammate, a good leader, a good player and chip in and contribute any way you can.
"I used COVID to my advantage in the sense of getting my body healthy again and getting myself in the best shape again so I could play at the level I wanted to. I feel great this year and I want to keep helping this team in the right direction with my personal game and the team game. It's been a lot of fun … You don't want to get casual or relax. You want to keep pushing and grinding, so you get the result you want."
