5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. PANTHERS
The Flames open a five-home homestand tonight vs. Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers
By
Ryan Dittrick
CalgaryFlames.com
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
'Excitement ... and Pressure'
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'It's a Building Block'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (16)
Goals - Nazem Kadri (8)
Panthers:
Points - Matthew Tkachuk (29)
Goals - Carter Verhaeghe (12)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 19.7% (24th) / PK - 79.0% (18th)
Panthers:
PP - 19.8% (23rd) / PK - 76.3% (22nd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 54.03% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 51.80% (15th)
Panthers:
Shot Attempts: 56.26% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 54.18% (8th)
Twelve days, 11 nights and more 10,000km later, the Flames are back in the friendly confines of the Scotiabank Saddledome.
As Jim Nabors, John Denver and almost every globetrotter knows ...
It's good to be Back Home Again.
The Flames are looking to get back in the win column tonight when they open a crucial, five-game homestand against Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers.
"Excited to play in front of our fans again," said Jonathan Huberdeau, who - along with MacKenzie Weegar - will get face his old team for the second time in 10 days. "It's been a while. It's a good homestand, so (it's important) to have a good start tomorrow, obviously. ... We want to go on a little winning streak and get the team going."
The Flames went winless (0-2-1) in their last three on the road trip and return home with a .500 record overall.
Head Coach Darryl Sutter said the team obviously fell short of its goals, but when it comes to effort and playing the way they have to, to get results, there were definitely some things to build around.
"There were parts of our game that we wanted to build on from the Winnipeg and LA games at home here prior to the trip," he said. "We did a really good job of that - we just didn't score enough goals.
"Try and get more shots, more chances, more from everybody. It's easy when you're not on the trip to analyze and evaluate. I did it, too. You can be an armchair coach, an armchair quarterback. But when you get into that length of a trip, you're counting on everybody and you're counting on that extra effort or that break or that call. It's a fine line.
"That's what it was. It's one goal."
Video: "We just didn't score enough goals"
Ding-ding!
Flames fans have had this one circled for some time.
While the hockey world was treated to the wildly entertaining first chapter of Tkachuk v. Flames last week, the Main Event premieres tonight when No. 19 makes his return to the 'Dome.
"It should be a fun one," said longtime pal Noah Hanifin. "Matthew was here for a long time and he was a great teammate to have. I've known Chucky since I was seven or eight years old, so it will be cool for him to come back to the building and play in front of the crowd again. I'm looking forward to having a competitive game with a lot of emotion.
"He was a big part of it here and obviously he did a lot of work with the children's hospital. I know he loved Calgary. He was somebody who kind of introduced me to the city when I first came here and made me comfortable in the organization. I'm happy for him and hope he's doing well, but it will be fun to compete against him (tonight)."
It promises to be an electric atmosphere. Of that, there's no doubt.
As for what tone that atmosphere takes on - whether it's cheers, boos or some combination of two - we'll have to wait and find out.
Tkachuk appeared in 431 regular-season games with the Flames, recording 152 goals and 382 points. Drafted sixth overall in 2016, the now-24-year-old quickly became a pillar of the community and brought the same passion to his charitable efforts as he played with on the ice.
But once the puck drops, there are no friends out there. And knowing Tkachuk, he's bound to be plenty fired up, too.
"He's still going to try and run you and get those hits on you, and we've got to try and give it back to him," Hanifin chuckled. "It should be a lot of fun to see him back in this building."
Tkachuk and the Panthers are sure to be ornery after coughing up a 3-2 lead with 4.4 seconds to play, before losing in overtime last night to the Oilers. The former Flame was integral, scoring once and showing off his patented hand-eye on a crucial assist late in the tilt.
Still, the Cats - who are without captain and all-around best player Sasha Barkov, who remains in Florida recovering from a non-COVID illness - have lost two straight in OT and four of their last five overall, dating back to Nov. 19 defeat to the Flames at FLA Live Arena.
Anton Lundell and Brandon Montour scored the others for the Panthers, while Spencer Knight 36 of the 40 shots he faced.
Video: "It's gonna click ... it's gonna come"
BLASTY'S BACK:
Tonight's game will be the debut of the Flames black third jersey nicknamed 'Blasty'. The Flames first re-introduced the black throwback jersey during the NHL's first Reverse Retro series during the COVID-shortened 2021 season, going 3-3-0 in the six games they wore it. Dillon Dube recorded the most goals in Blasty in 2021 with 4, including his first NHL hat-trick against Ottawa in a 7-4 win on Mar. 4, 2021. The Flames announced the black threads would be returning in October and are slated to wear Blasty 12 times this season.
RED-HOT RUZICKA:
With his first period marker on Saturday afternoon against the Hurricanes, Adam Ruzicka is now one point shy of becoming the Flames all-time points leader by Slovakian-born players. Ruzicka currently trails Ronald Petrovicky, who had 21 points (9G, 12A) in 107 games with the Flames over two seasons. Ruzicka is also one point shy of surpassing his previous season's point total (5-5-10) which he set in 28 games during 2021-22.
DID YOU KNOW?
Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers organization in games played, (671), assists (415), points (613) and even-strength goals (150).
MacKenzie Weegar most points out of any seventh-round pick in Panthers franchise history (126). He was drafted in 2013.
Stick tap to Flames Communications Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes.
Follow him and the Flames PR team @FlamesPR on Twitter for more.
Flames - Blake Coleman
Admittedly, his game is not where he wants it to be.
Yet.
But a big road trip has Coleman on the right path as he looks to re-discover his offensive touch.
"It's getting there," the forward said after Monday's practice. "The way I look at myself and the way I evaluate my game, I still have some ways to go. But it was definitely a step in the right direction."
Coleman scored in back-to-back games on the trip and led the Flames with a season-high, three-point effort in a 5-2 win over the Flyers last week. He now has three goals and nine points on the year, and continues to play a strong, two-way game alongside centre Mikael Backlund.
"You need trips like that to get the engine started and get it going again and give you something to build on," Coleman said. "I think I'm knocking on the door. I have high expectations for myself. I'm on the way there, but not where I want to be yet."
Panthers - Sam Bennett
Obviously, all eyes will be on Tkachuk. But Sam Bennett - as Flames fans are well aware - tends to rise up for these big games, too.
In the absence of Barkov, Bennett played on a line with Tkachuk and Nick Cousins last night in the Alberta capital, and enters tonight's tilt with five goals and 16 points on the year.
Mikael Backlund on Matthew Tkachuk's return:
"He came here a very young player, (was) drafted, and made the team right away. He's a unique player and he scored goals for this organization for how many years? I don't know, but a lot of years. Just a special, talented player … He did a great job, too, in the community, working with the children's hospital and other charities and was also a great leader for the team.
"Great player and person. That's how he left this team."
