5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. DUCKS

FLAMES (29-23-13) vs. DUCKS (21-35-9)

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2022-23 Season Series: 1-0-0

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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Tyler Toffoli (54)
Goals - Toffoli (26)
Ducks:
Points - Trevor Zegras (55)
Goals - Zegras (21)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 19.0% (23rd) / PK - 81.3% (12th)
Ducks:
PP - 16.0% (30th) / PK - 73.4% (30th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 56.75% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 52.01% (14th)
Ducks:
Shot Attempts: 43.22% (31st)
High-Danger Chances: 39.11% (32nd)
It was quite the challenge facing Toffoli on Tuesday night in Minnesota.
After scoring the breakaway winner with less than seven ticks left on the clock the night before in Dallas against the Stars in dramatic fashion - sending the C of Red around the world leaping to their feet in celebration - how does he follow that up against the Wild?
Well, how about having the puck on your stick for the victory again, this time Calgary's fourth participant in a shootout, snapping the puck five-hole as the Flames grabbed all four points in the back-to-back tilts against two Central Division powerhouses.
The importance of the wins can't be overstated given the team's drive for a playoff berth.
While Toffoli scored the shootout winner in Minny, netminder Jacob Markstrom was the first star of the night with a simply stellar season-high 40 saves.
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to read the game story.
The players, to a man, knew they needed a pair of wins and they accomplished it in dramatic fashion.
The task ahead of the Flames now is simple: Take these two victories and keep adding more Ws to extend the streak.
"That's all that matters - to win hockey games,"
said Markstrom after practice Thursday
. "We had a big road trip but we need to keep going. We need to stay focused on the task ahead and we can't celebrate anything because we haven't done anything."

The Ducks started off this three-game road swing of theirs with back-to-back tilts Tuesday and Wednesday.
They lost the first one 5-2 in Seattle, falling behind 2-0 after the first period. Trevor Zegras scored in the second before the Kraken added another for a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Max Comtois would get a late one in the third, while John Gibson finished with 26 saves on 30 shots.
"The game comes down to what we call 'A' chances," Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins told NHL.com. "I thought we had more A chances than them, we just didn't bury them. Their goaltender played very, very well. I think the thing that really hurt us tonight was our powerplay. We didn't get many good looks there, especially when we really needed it."
Anaheim then headed north across the border to face the Canucks Wednesday, getting a point in a 3-2 OT loss.
Troy Terry and Brock McGinn scored in regulation, but J.T. Miller notched his second of the game just 20 ticks into extra time to give the homeside the win. Lukas Dostal made 31 saves in the defeat.
Despite the two losses, the Ducks - one of the front-runners in the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes - are 4-1-2 in their last seven tilts. Eakins was complimentary of his team's play after the Vancouver loss.
"We played a (heck) of a game," he told NHL.com. "This league, it's always hard to win that second game on a back to back, but we played a really good four-line game. Our goaltending was good and we put ourselves in a spot to at least get a point."
HUBY'S HELPING HAND:
With his two-assist effort on Monday night in Dallas, Jonathan Huberdeau earned the 96th multi-assist effort of his career, tying him with Brian Propp for the third-most by a left winger before their 30th birthday in NHL history. Huberdeau has now recorded seven such games this season with the Flames, and his 30 assists on the campaign are the third most on the team. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Huberdeau is tied for the fifth-most assists among all skaters in the NHL (115) and is just one helper behind Quinn Hughes (116) for the fourth most.
ONE AWAY FROM 200:
Elias Lindholm scored his 199th career goal on Monday in Dallas, putting him one away from 200 in his NHL career. Lindholm is looking to become the sixth active Swedish-born skater to reach the milestone, and the fifth from the 2013 draft class. The Boden, Sweden native has scored 135 of his 199 goals as a member of the Flames and currently has the fourth-most goals by a Swedish-born player in Flames franchise history. Only Mikael Backlund (180), Hakan Loob (193), and Kent Nilsson (229) have more.
MARKY MARK:
Jacob Markstrom was dialled in on Tuesday night in Minnesota, turning aside all 40 of the shots he faced for his first shutout of the season in a 1-0 shootout win over the Wild. Markstrom recorded the NHL's 11th 40-save shutout of the 2022-23 campaign and became one of just nine goalies to record a 40-save shutout. He is just the third goaltender in Flames franchise history with multiple such performances joining Dan Bouchard (3x; last: 40 saves on November 1, 1978) and Mike Smith (43 saves on Oct. 9, 2018 & Oct. 9, 2017) with his previous 40-save shutout coming on Oct. 28, 2021 when he turned aside all 45 shots he faced in Pittsburgh.
Flames - Tyler Toffoli
See above, re: team lead in goals, points and heroics in last two outings. Teapot is red hot!
Ducks - Trevor Zegras
Zegras has scored a Michigan and is not afraid to show off his silky-smooth mitts and attempt things in the offensive zone that most players wouldn't dare try. He's young, skilled and a danger to score everytime he touches the puck.
### 5. DID YOU KNOW(S)?

• Noah Hanifin scored his first NHL goal against the Anaheim Ducks back on Nov. 16, 2015.
• Elias Lindholm and Jakob Silfverberg were teammates on Brynas IF Gavle of the SHL in 2011-12. Silfverberg was the team's leading scorer with 24 goals and 30 assists for 54 points while Elias Lindholm played his first 12 games of pro hockey with the club. Brynas IF Gavle would go on to become the SHL playoff champions with both Lindholm and Silfverberg playing in the playoffs.
• Ducks winger Brett Leason was born in Calgary and is set to skate in his second game against his hometown team, and first NHL game at the Scotiabank Saddledome.