5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. WILD
Flames look to wrap up the homestand with a win over Minny
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
GAME DAY FEATURES
Projected Lineup
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Nazem Kadri (19)
Goals - Kadri, Elias Lindholm (9)
Wild:
Points - Kirill Kaprizov (32)
Goals - Kaprizov (16)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 20% (25th) / PK - 79.8% (10th)
Wild:
PP - 25.6% (11th) / PK - 80.8% (8th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.98% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 53.16% (10th)
Wild:
Shot Attempts: 45.16% (15th)
High-Danger Chances: 54.03% (9th)
Protect home ice.
So far, they've done just that.
The final game of the Flames five-game homestand goes down tonight as they welcome the Wild to the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Flames have won three of their last four, with the latest Monday night, a 3-2 decision over the Arizona Coyotes.
Dillon Dube, Elias Lindholm and Nazem Kadri supplied the goals, with Kadri's game winner on the powerplay late in the third.
Dan Vladar got the start and turned in another solid outing, stopping 18 shots to record the win.
"We got the two points, all that matters," Elias Lindholm said. "Both PK and PP has been struggling, two for three on the PP and two for two on the PK tonight, we have to build on that.
"If we want to take the next step and climb into a playoff spot, we gotta put a couple together. We can't just be around .500 all the time and lose one, win one. Tonight (Monday) wasn't our best performance but we got the two points and will be better the next game."
They've strung some wins together, but they want more.
"You don't want to be up and down," Noah Hanifin said. "You want to stay consistent and get on a roll and that's something we need to do. (It's) a huge game for us to finish off this homestand in a good spot and take the momentum on the road.
"You want to stay above that line at all times, continue to get better and keep improving. We've all realized that and something we're starting to do now."
Video: Condensed Game: Coyotes @ Flames
The Wild enter tonight's match-up on a roll riding a four-game win streak and have won six of their last seven.
Sunday was their latest victory, a crazy 6-5 shootout win over the Dallas Stars. Minnesota held a 5-1 lead headed into the third period but the Stars battled back to score four unanswered goals under 12 minutes in the final stanza to force extra time.
Kirill Kaprizov, Connor Dewar, Jake Middleton, Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriskon Ek scored in regulation, while Frederick Gaudreau scored the shootout winner to secure the two points.
"It was a roller coaster," Ryan Reaves said after the game. "I think they carried a decent amount of the first period, and obviously we had a good push in the second. Start off well in the third. Good teams, they find ways to battle back.
"Hats off to them, they're a good team and they're going to find ways to push and claw back in that game. We found a way to come up with a win."
The Wild currently sit third in a tight Central Division with 28 points, just one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and two ahead of the Nashville Predators.
LETHAL LINDHOLM: Elias Lindholm scored for the third-straight game in Monday's win over the Coyotes. Over his career, Lindholm has 13 points in 17 career matchups against Minnesota and recorded at least a point in all three of the club's meetings last season, ending with 5 points (2G, 3A).
LOOK BACKS AT IT: Mikael Backlund skated in his 851 NHL game on Monday night against the Coyotes. 424 of those contests on home ice, putting him third in most career home games played in Flames franchise history. He passed former Flame Robyn Regehr who spent 11 years with Calgary and played 826 games as a Flame, with 423 at home.
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS: The Flames currently average 34.5 shots per game, good for fifth in the league. So far on the year, Tyler Toffoli and Nazem Kadri lead the way with 77 shots while Backlund is third with 67.
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 - Nazem Kadri
He's heating up!
Naz has four points in his last two games (1G, 3A) and is coming off a three point night against the Coyotes which saw him score the gamer winner. With two of his points on the man advantage, he now has 10 power play points which leads the club.
Wild - Kirill Kaprizov
Kaprizov enters the match-up riding a 12-game point streak which has seen him collect 19 (8G, 11A) in that span. His 32 points rank 12th in the league while his 16 goals tied for sixth.
Jacob Markstrom on the growth of Dan Vladar:
"It's been awesome to see Vladdy in net. That's really inspiring. We push each other every day and he's been playing unreal. It's the same in practice, same as every day, it's the same as he is with me when I'm playing. I love Vladdy and all the progress he's made the last two years is unbelievable. I think he's going to be a really good goalie for a really long time in this league. It's great for our team, he's standing on his head right now. I couldn't be more happy every time he makes a save or every time we score a goal."
