5 THINGS - FLAMES vs. KRAKEN
Calgary looks to make it five wins in a row and two straight against Seattle
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's game
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Projected Lineup
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STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (99)
Goals - Elias Lindholm (38)
Kraken:
Points - Yanni Gourde and Jared McCann (41)
Goals - McCann (25)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 23.2% (8th) / PK - 83.8% (5th)
Kraken:
PP - 14.1% (29th) / PK - 75.1% (26th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.81% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 56.29% (2nd)
Kraken:
Shot Attempts: 50.33% (14th)
High-Danger Chances: 48.33% (20th)
The Flames return to the Scotiabank Saddledome after sweeping a four-game road trip that finished with a 4-1 victory over the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena Saturday.
Calgary improved to 3-0 against expansion Seattle this season.
Blake Coleman, Trevor Lewis, Michael Stone and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Flames, while Jacob Markstrom was excellent between the pipes with 27 stops.
Noah Hanifin had a huge game, assisting on all four tallies.
Karson Kuhlman had the lone marker for the Kraken, while Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves.
"It was a good night," said Hanifin. "I thought, obviously, it's a big two points for our team and finishing the road trip with a win... There are definitely some things we can clean up as a team, especially in the D zone. I thought Marky had a great night for us, made some huge saves, but overall, It was good to get some depth scoring and we're going to need that as we get later in the season."
Secondary scoring was big Saturday - always welcome.
"It's important," said Coleman. "Four-assist night for my boy, Hanny. It's nice. Hopefully he can keep bringing those on. In seriousness, it's... You want to go deep, in this game you've got to have depth scoring, you've got to have guys that can win you games and win you series and can step up. Because, as you get further along in the season and as games become more important, so do the matchups so do teams getting who they want against guys like Johnny, Lindy and Chucky. The onus is going to be on our defencemen and the rest of the three lines to step up and be game-changers for us. These next 10 games, you really use this time to have guys start to feel about where their game's at and feel confident offensively to create some scoring punch and if we do that, we're going to be in really good shape."
Video: Condensed Game: Flames @ Kraken
The day after the Kraken fell to the Flames, they announced they had inked their first-ever draft pick - Matty Beniers - to a three-year entry level contract.
Seattle selected the University of Michigan star second overall in the 2021 entry draft.
"It's truly an honor to join the Kraken organization, officially, and I can't wait to get started," said Beniers. "Although we fell short of our goal, I loved my time with Michigan and am looking forward to the next step in my journey. Being drafted last summer was surreal. I'm excited to get to Seattle."
Kraken.com reported Sunday that there was no set date for his NHL debut but he did travel with the team on this road trip and skated in practice Monday at the Scotiabank Saddledome on a line with Jordan Eberle and Ryan Donato.
"A lot of people in hockey have said playing (NHL) games at the end of season is beneficial (for NCAA players)," said Beniers in an exclusive interview Sunday with Kraken.com's Bob Condor. "You get to see where you are at and I get around the guys.
"It's really important for me to get to know them and learn from them. I'm extremely fortunate to get to do that."
TEAM GAME: The Flames are on the brink of recording their 45th win this season. It would be the 10th time in franchise history the Flames would achieve 45 wins in a season (1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1990-91, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2018-19).
GOAL!:The Flames have scored the first goal of the game an NHL-high 47 times this season and are 35-8-4 when it happens. Calgary has outscored its opponent 86-47 in the first period and have outshot them 849-689 in the opening frame this season.
ON A TEAR: Tyler Toffoli scored his 20th of the season on Saturday with his empty-net goal in the third period. This is the third-straight 20-goal season for Toffoli and the sixth of his career. Toffoli is just three assists away from 200 in his career and seven goals away from 200 career goals.
Video: A big week begins at the 'Dome
Flames - Noah Hanifin
In a season where plenty of Flames are setting career records, Hanifin's 39 points is a high-water mark for the blueliner, eclipsing the 33 he had in 2018-19. He is three goals shy of the 10 he scored in 2017-18 but his 32 helpers - thanks to the four he collected Saturday against Seattle - is four higher that his previous best of 28 from 2018-19 with 10 games still to play.
Hanifin's four assists in Seattle tied for the second-most assists by a defenceman in a road game in Flames franchise history. Al MacInnis (1994) and Dion Phaneuf (2007) share the lead with both having five assists in a game during their time as a Flame.
Hanifin now has 109 points in 268 games as a member of the Flames, which is the ninth-most points by a Flames defenceman age 25 or younger in franchise history (most: Al MacInnis - 416 points).
Kraken - Jared McCann
We could say Matty Beniers - would be interesting to watch the youngster if he plays. But since we aren't sure if he will, have to go with McCann. He's leading the team in goals and tied in points. He picked up an assist on Karson Kuhlman's goal Saturday in the loss to the Flames.
Oliver Kylington on the team's stretch drive:
"These 10 games left are critical. We want to get points and clinch a playoff spot and we want to finish first in our division to get home advantage. So, all these games left are huge. It's not a time to relax. It's pressure time, so you have to be 'game on.'"
