5 THINGS - FLAMES @ PENGUINS
Flames look to win third straight when they face Sid and Co. tonight
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's tilt
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Front and Centre
Say What: 'Some Extra Juice'
Projected Lineup
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2021-22 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (16)
Goals - Nazem Kadri (8)
Penguins:
Points - Sidney Crosby (27)
Goals - Crosby & Jake Guentzel (10)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 20.7% (18th) / PK - 80.9% (9th)
Penguins:
PP - 18.8% (25th) / PK - 79.4% (14th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.26% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 53.05% (11th)
Penguins:
Shot Attempts: 50.81% (14th)
High-Danger Chances: 54.60% (6th)
The Flames are coming off a 5-2 win over the Flyers in Philly Monday night in the third game of this six-game road swing.
They have now won two straight and four of their last five.
Blake Coleman played in his 400th game, a significant milestone for the Texas product.
Coleman scored en empty-net goal to ice the victory and added a pair of assists, while Jonathan Huberdeau, Dillon Dube, Rasmus Andersson and Trevor Lewis (EN) rounded out the scoring for the visitors.
Jacob Markstrom has played every game of the road trip so far, making 23 saves in the City of Brotherly Love.
The team now plays three games in four days before returning home and they're looking to build on their winning ways.
"Yeah, for sure," said Milan Lucic Tuesday after the team's skate at PPG Paints Arena. "And I think the main thing is you got to take care of the first game and then, you know, think about the next two, because the back-to-backs, those are their own animals.
"So, when you can win the first game of the next three to end off this trip, it sets up that back-to-back. So that's what makes this game (against the Pens) a real important one for us. And, like I said, we've got to continue building our game, from what we did the last two."
Video: "There are areas we want to get better at"
The Pens are surging, winners of three straight on the road.
They started the streak with a 6-4 win over Minny, then blanked the Jets 3-0 and, most recently, beat the Blackhawks 5-3 on Sunday.
Evgeni Malkin played in his 1,000th game and scored in the victory, part of a three-goal run along with tallies from Brock McGinn and Rickard Rakell to give Pittsburgh a commanding start to the contest.
But Chicago didn't roll over, scoring three straight of their own before Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel sealed the deal for the visitors. Crosby finished the night with four points in the victory. Casey DeSmith made 29 saves for Pittsburgh and currently sports a 2.88 GAA and .909 save percentage.
Malkin will be honoured at tonight's tilt for the notable career mark.
"Great memories for me and my family," Malkin told NHL.com's Bruce Miles after the win. "Emotional night. I hope I stay here all my life. Amazing team. Amazing organization. I hope this will be a special year for me. You don't play a game like this, maybe one or two in your life. Lots of emotion, lots of thinking. I was only thinking the whole game we needed to win."
Meanwhile, Malkin's partner-in-crime all these years, Crosby, is no showing no signs of slowing down, piling up an impressive three goals and 10 points on the Pens recent three-game run.
"Obviously, the numbers speak for itself," Sullivan told Miles of the Pens captain. "He was tremendous. He just has the ability to elevate his game at key times. A lot of times he's the difference. You saw what he did late in the game. That's what he's capable of."
LAST TIME AGAINST PENS:The Flames welcomed the Penguins to the Scotiabank Saddledome back on Oct. 25 for the first of their two meetings. Nazem Kadri netted two first-period goals and later in the game, Jonathan Huberdeau scored his first as a Flame and Michael Stone potted his second of the season. Jacob Markstrom turned aside 32 of Pittsburgh's 33 shots and the Flames won 4-1.
THE FIRST TIME:Multiple Flames players picked-up NHL firsts against the Pittsburgh Penguins. MacKenzie Weegar scored his first NHL goal against the Penguins on Oct. 20, 2017; Elias Lindholm recorded his first NHL assist against the Pens in October of 2013 and Dan Vladar started in his first NHL game against the Penguins, stopping 35 shots and recording his first NHL win.
POINTS AT PPG:The Flames have recorded at least a point in their last six trips to PPG Paints Arena. Dating back to the 2015-16 season the Flames have gone 4-0-2 in their trips to Pittsburgh outscoring the Penguins 21-13 over that stretch. Mikael Backlund leads the Flames over the six games with six points (2-4-6) and has only been held off the score sheet once in Pittsburgh since 2016-17.
Stick tap to Flames Communications Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes.
Follow the Flames PR team @FlamesPR on Twitter for more.
Video: "Confidence is big in this league"
Flames - Rasmus Andersson
The blueliner is eating big minutes and chipping in with some timely offensive production to boot, scoring the game-winner in the shootout against the Panthers and tallying a beauty against the Flyers, stepping into a clapper that got style points for breaking the stick of Joel Farabee before beating Carter Hart.
Penguins - Sidney Crosby
He's one of the best to ever lace up a pair of skates and he continues to be one of the game's most dynamic players. His recent heater shows that he can still dominant the league with his hands and high hockey IQ.
Jacob Markstrom on finishing off roadie:
"So far it's been a good road trip but these three next games are gonna be huge for us. This is where you make it a great road trip or not so great. So it's important games coming up here."
