5 THINGS - FLAMES vs. RANGERS

FLAMES (32-24-9: 73 pts) vs. RANGERS (28-30-6: 62 pts)

1. US

The Flames went 0-2 on their recent road trip, falling 2-0 to the Stars on Tuesday and 5-2 to the Avalanche on Wednesday. Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik scored for Calgary in Denver, while David Rittich stopped 29 of the 33 shots he faced … Worth noting, the Flames are 10-1-0-1 this season when the red-hot Matthew Tkachuk has a multi-point game.

2. THEM

Rookie defenceman John Gilmour scored 1:22 into overtime Wednesday night as the Rangers snapped a seven-game losing skid with a 6-5 win over the Canucks in Vancouver. Henrik Lundqvist made a season-high 50 saves to get the victory … The Rangers have a surprising 10-4 record against Pacific Division opponents this season.

3. US vs. THEM

This is the second and final matchup of the season between the Flames and Rangers. These two teams played at MSG on Feb. 9, with the Rangers winning 4-3 … The Flames are currently 12-10-4 against the Eastern Conference.

4. THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

THIS:Tkachuk has been a scoring machine since the calendar flipped to 2018. Tkachuk has 24 of his 48 points from Jan. 1 to today and 14 of his 24 goals. He has 12 points (7G - 5A) in the last 11 games and is just four points shy of 100 in his career … THAT:The Flames sport an all-time March record of 309-250-56-13, which is the best winning percentage (.491) of any month in franchise history. Calgary went a blistering 10-4-0-0 in the month of March last season to clinch a playoff berth. The Flames will play six teams that are under .500 this month, as well as seven games at home and seven on the road … THE OTHER: Monahan is one game-winner away from tying a franchise record for most game-winning goals in a season, which is held by Joe Mullenwho had 12 back in 1986-87.

5. PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Flames:C Mikael Backlund
Backlund was in on both Calgary goals in the loss to the Avs, scoring a beautiful short-handed marker and assisting on linemateMichael Frolik's tally. He has two goals and five points in his last three games.
Rangers: C Vladislav Namestnikov
The newcomers, acquired in a trade-deadline day deal with Tampa Bay, had a goal and an assists in the win over the Canucks.