5 THINGS - FLAMES @ PREDATORS
The Flames look to sweep this quick two-game road trip tonight in Nashville
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's tilt from Nashville
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (107)
Goals - Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm (39)
Predators:
Points - Roman Josi (88)
Goals - Matt Duchene (39)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 23.2% (9th) / PK - 84.1% (5th)
Predators:
PP - 23.8% (7th) / PK - 79.9% (14th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.91% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 55.85% (2nd)
Predators:
Shot Attempts: 49.92% (16th)
High-Danger Chances: 51.49% (14th)
It's Johnny Hockey's world and we're all just living in it.
Gaudreau scored a pair of goals in the Flames 5-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago Monday night, notching his 600th career point and climbing within three points of league scoring leader Connor McDavid.
His 107 points is tied with Guy Chouinard for the fourth-highest total in franchise history. He's within striking distance of two and three: Joey Mullen (with 110 in 1988-89), and Bob MacMillan (108 in(1978-79). The legendary Magic Man, Kent Nilsson, is No. 1 with 131 points in 1980-81.
"We had a good first period," saud Gaudreau. "Obviously, a quick couple goals there. I think we could have had a few more, but their goalie played pretty well there in the first and helped them stick around a little bit. In the second, we kind of let our foot off the gas and in the third, they pushed back us back a little bit. But we stuck with it and got the win."
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The victory was another big step towards winning the Pacific Division, as the Flames continue to power to the postseason.
Dillon Dube and Gaudreau staked the Flames to a 2-0 lead in the Windy City before Tyler Johnson scored to narrow the gap. Blake Coleman tallied his 16th of the season for a 3-1 Flames lead after 20 minutes.
Alec Regula had the lone marker of the second, with the Flames adding two late empty-netters from Gaudreau and Oliver Kylington, the last one assisted by Jacob Markstrom who had 22 saves on the night.
"Really good game," said Markstrom. "I thought obviously the start is something we've been talking a lot about and I thought we were ready to go right off the hop. As a goalie, when you score a few goals, it's nice. You know it's not a 0-0 game and it's always easier to play with the lead, and I thought we've been great doing that all year. I enjoy not having too many shots because that means we're in the other end. The guys have been great all year with O zone time and we've got to keep it going."
Matthew Tkachuk picked up a pair of helpers, and is now just two shy of the century mark this season.
"He's a really good player," said Gaudreau of his linemate. "Really smart, sees the ice well. He's really good in front of the net and down low. Lindy, pretty much the same type of player - really good in his own zone and has a really good shot. We like playing with each other. We feel really comfortable on the ice and it's been a lot of fun this year playing with those two."
Video: Gaudreau records 600th point in win over Blackhawks
The Preds got beat 8-3 by the St. Louis Blues at home on Sunday.
Nick Cousins opened the scoring for the homeside 4:16 in, but Brayden Schenn tied it up with just over two-and-a-half-minutes to go in the opening period.
Then the floodgates opened.
Vladamir Tarasenko gave the Blues their first lead of the game 1:11 into the second, the first of six straight St. Louis goals to blow the game wide open.
Luke Kunin added one for Nashville in the middle stanza, and Dante Fabbro scored in the third.
"I actually thought we played a good first, had a good period, had a lot of chances," Predators captain Roman Josi told NHL.com's John Glennon. "Then in the second period, we just fell apart. We gave them so many chances, odd-man rushes everywhere. We left our goalies out to dry. We got embarrassed in the second period."
"I just think (the Blues are) a super-skilled team over there," said Cousins. "They make a lot of plays through the neutral zone. I just think we've got to be harder with our reloads, myself included. It just seems like every opportunity they had, they made the most of it."
Glennon reported Nashville blueliner Jeremy Lauzon is week-to-week with a lower-body injury he sustained Saturday, when the Preds edged the Blackhawks 4-3.
Eeli Tovanen, Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund and Roman Josi also scored for the Preds.
Josi, of course, is having a Norris-calibre season (see more on him below in Player to Watch), while Duchene is having a major bounce-back campaign with a career-high 39 goals already, after scoring 19 goals in 100 games the previous two seasons.
COURTESY OF FLAMES PR
EVEN UP: Johnny Gaudreau now has the most even-strength points in an NHL season since 1995-96 with 85 (32G, 53A). Gaudreau passed Connor McDavid who had 84 even-strength points during the 2017-18 season.
EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM: The Flames have scored 49 game-opening goals this season, the most in the NHL. The Flames are one game-opening goal away from tying a franchise record for the most in season set in 2009-10, 2005-06, and 1992-93. Calgary has 91 first period goals this season, the second most in the NHL behind the Florida Panthers (94) for the most in the NHL.
THIS IS 40: Matthew Tkachuk (39), Elias Lindholm (39) and Johnny Gaudreau (38) can become just the second trio of teammates since 1993-94 to reach the 40-goal plateau in a season joining Gary Roberts (41), Theo Fleury (40) and Robert Reichel (40). The last 40-goal scorer in a season was Jarome Iginla who reached the 40-goal plateau during the 2010-11 season when he scored 43 that season.
Stick tap to Flames PR guru Dalton Ulrich for compiling these nuggets
Flames - Dillon Dube
There's no doubt everyone will be watching Gaudreau and Tkachuk, who are lighting it up. But Dube has been stellar in his last three outings, scoring once against Chicago and he now has four goals in his last three outings. He's playing his best hockey of the season and providing the secondary scoring which is essential to the team's success.
Predators - Roman Josi
Josi is one of the favourite's to win the Norris - THE favourite depending on who you ask - after a stellar season by the blueliner. He leads all D-men with 88 points, is second in goals with 20 (Cale Makar leads with 26), and is tops with 68 helpers, 10 clear of Adam Fox. Can he hit 100? If he does he'd be the first D-man since Brian Leetch to get there (102 in 1991-92).
Those 88 points are a new single-season high for the franchise, as he eclipsed the previous high-water mark of 85 set by Paul Kariya in 2005-06. His incredible play has some putting his name in the Hart conversation, where the last defenceman to win the MVP trophy was Chris Pronger way back in 1999-2000.
Jacob Markstrom on the win in Chicago:
"Really good game. I thought obviously the start is something we've been talking a lot about and I thought we were ready to go right off the hop. As a goalie, when you score a few goals, it's nice. You know it's not a 0-0 game and it's always easier to play with the lead, and I thought we've been great doing that all year. I enjoy not having too many shots because that means we're in the other end. The guys have been great all year with O-zone time and we've got to keep it going."
