5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. GOLDEN KNIGHTS
The Flames open a seven-game homestand tonight vs. Vegas
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's tilt
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GAME DAY VIDEO
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Pregame Interviews
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Projected Lineup
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (54)
Goals - Matthew Tkachuk, Andrew Mangiapane (20)
Golden Knights:
Points - Chandler Stephenson (38)
Goals - Jonathan Marchessault (20)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 21.2% (12th) / PK - 84.3% (4th)
Golden Knights:
PP - 20.0% (16th) / PK - 79.5% (17th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.50% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 55.99% (2nd)
Golden Knights:
Shot Attempts: 51.94% (10th)
High-Danger Chances: 50.43% (17th)
Now, we can no longer look at the past.
With a 23-win, 52-point first half, the Flames are off to one of their best starts in recent memory.
The stats back it up too, too - they're an excellent team with all the ingredients, including a perennial all-star and Hart Trophy frontrunner in Johnny Gaudreau.
But all of it matters not unless the encore lives up to the opener.
Tonight, the Flames not only open a season-long, seven-game homestand - but a feverish clip that will see them play the final 40 games of the season in a mere 80 days.
Don't blink.
The 'stretch drive' begins now.
"We put ourselves in a decent spot in the standings and we've got to keep going," said Jacob Markstrom. "We've got to push here.
"This is where the fun hockey starts - where you really start playing for playoff spots and where you end up at the end of the season. It's a fun time of the year. I don't think there's a problem to get going and get excited to play games."
The Flames are coming off a 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes prior to the All-Star Break and bring a .619 points percentage into tonight's clash with the first-place Vegas Golden Knights.
With only a sliver separating these two teams in the standings - the Flames having played four fewer games to this point - the homeside is looking to make a statement as they begin this critical 'Dome stretch and lay claim to the top spot in the division.
With one game every two days on average, it promises to be taxing.
Twenty-six of those forty dates will - thankfully - be played on home ice, but eight back-to-back sets will certainly test the team's mettle.
Fortunately, the Flames have prepared for this.
"Last year, (Head Coach) Darryl (Sutter) - before we left for the summer - he told us that we needed to get some more cardio," smiled Elias Lindholm. "I think everyone came back in really good shape. This is where it kind of shows. Late in the season there's going to be a lot of games and we've put ourselves in a pretty good spot and now it's time for the summer to come into play here."
Following tonight's game, the Flames will host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday to complete their first back-to-back loop at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Video: "We've got to hit the ground running here"
The Golden Knights were in action last night, beating the Oilers 4-0 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Brett Howden, William Karlsson, Alex Pietrangelo and Reilly Smith supplied the offence, while former Flames draft pick Laurent Brossoit made 28 saves for the shutout - the third of his career and first as a member of the Sin City squad.
"I definitely was juiced up to play this one," said Brossoit, who played parts of four seasons with the Oilers after being traded from Calgary. "I don't think I've won against Edmonton since moving on from them. It felt nice tonight to win here, of course - and to get the shoutout, it meant even more.
"They kind of pushed in the first period and got me into the game quite a bit. I had the bulk of my work in the first and whenever I get a few shots and a few saves in the first period, you get into a bit of a rhythm.
"In the second half of the game, I feel like the guys shut it down and frustrated them."
The Golden Knights were a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty-kill, upsetting the talented Oilers powerplay with a short-handed tally late in the opening frame.
The Knights have now won three straight dating back to Jan. 29, and enter tonight's clash atop the Pacific with 28 wins and 59 points.
"The penalty-kill was big," said Pietrangelo, who recorded his 500th career point in the victory. "I thought we did a good job once we got our legs under us in the second period; we were jumping to getting on pucks and taking away their space. The neutral zone was real good for us. I didn't think we gave them any chances to get through there with speed, which is where they're really, really dynamic."
With Brossoit getting the net last night, the Knights' No.-1 goalie Robin Lehner is expected to get the call tonight.
Video: "Have to play with a lot of structure"
HOME COOKIN': The Flames are 7-4-4 at home this year and have won three straight at the Scotiabank Saddledome, but have played the least amount of home games in the NHL. Johnny Gaudreau leads the Flames on home ice with 20 (6G, 14A) of his 54 points coming at the 'Dome. Matthew Tkachuk leads all goal-scorers at home with nine of his 20 tucks coming in downtown Calgary.
WINTER TAN: Chris Tanev is coming off a four-point night for the first time in his career. He is only the seventh defenceman in franchise history to record a game with at least one goal and three assists (Others: Al MacInnis - 7 times, Gary Suter - twice, Randy Manery, Barry Gibbs, Paul Reinhart, Mark Giordano).
DID YOU KNOW? Last Thursday, the Flames recorded 50 shots on goal in a 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes. It was only the fifth time in franchise history where they've done that on the road. Of those, two have happened in the past two weeks. On Jan. 26, the Flames set a franchise record for shots in a single game when they peppered Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Elvis Merzlikins with 62 in a 6-0 win at Nationwide Arena.
Video: It's been a heckuva ride so far - let's keep it going
Flames - Jacob Markstrom
There's a common thread among the championship teams in this league.
They all have an elite goaltender.
Markstrom has given the Flames all they could ask from their No.-1 puck-stopper this year with a 17-10-5 record, along with a .923 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average.
And while the vet would never point to any individual metric as a barometer for team success, his league-leading seven shutouts have certainly caught the eye of the hockey world.
Especially in Calgary.
Markstrom is only three bagels off the single-season franchise record, set by the legendary Miikka Kiprusoff in the 2005-06 season.
He now has a half-season left to best it.
"It's more about the goals-against, to keep that as low as possible," Markstrom said when asked about Kipper's incredible 10. "You try to stay close with that.
"And wins.
"Me personally, that's what I look at the most. I want to help guys and help the team win as much as possible and when it comes down to it, that's what matters. That's when you get points. You don't get any extra bonus points for a shutout or a good save percentage."
Either way, the record is very much within reach.
And whether or not he achieves it, there's no doubting the influence the workhorse puck-stopper has had on the Flames this year.
In fact, as teammate and fellow Swede Elias Lindholm is concerned, he's a shoo-in for the Vezina Trophy.
"The numbers speak for (themselves)," he said. "He's been amazing so far for us and won us a lot of games. Obviously, he should be talked about more often.
"I think there are a lot of good goalies in this league - but Marky is at the top there and doesn't get the credit he deserves."
Golden Knights - Jonathan Marchessault
Fresh off his first appearance at the NHL All-Star Game - and with 20 tucks already to his name - Marchessault is on pace for a career high in goals.
His current high-water mark is 30, set during the 2016-17 season as a member of the Florida Panthers. He's never scored more than 27 in a Golden Knights uniform.
Markstrom on Elias Lindholm's case for the Selke Trophy:
"I feel like they should really look at him for the Selke. I get to see him every day being on the same team, and when we play games, you see he matches up with the other team's best players. Against Florida, he's matching up with (Aleksander) Barkov and against those players that are in the conversation every year and I think when you look at plus/minus and everything like that - game to game when (he) plays against them - he's always ahead of them. Better numbers. I don't know. It's something, for sure, that they should look at him. This year, too, he's playing with Johnny and Chucky, who've been great putting up a ton of points. … (But) he's kind of a guy who keeps it all together. Especially defensively. There's a lot of hard work that goes (unnoticed)."
Lindholm on his defensive game:
"I take a lot of pride in my defence. I think it was Rod Brind'Amour who told me, 'If you do it right defensively, all the rest is going to come to you.' … try to do it right and obviously playing with Chucky and Johnny, the offence will come by itself. Those two are amazing to play with."
