5 THINGS - FLAMES @ CANUCKS
The Flames head to the West Coast for a divisional battle
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
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'It Sets Up For a Good One'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (79)
Goals - Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane (30)
Canucks:
Points - J.T. Miller (73)
Goals - Miller (24)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 23.3% (11th) / PK - 85.6% (4th)
Canucks:
PP - 21.0% (14th) / PK - 71.3% (32nd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.42% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 56.20% (3rd)
Canucks:
Shot Attempts: 49.91% (15th)
High-Danger Chances: 46.96% (24th)
The Buffalo Sabres came into the Scotiabank Saddledome and brought a stingy, tight defensive game.
Calgary had plenty of opportunities - and goalie Jacob Markstrom was excellent - but the visitors prevailed 1-0 in overtime, with the Flames still gathering an important point as they continue their focus on winning the Pacific Division.
But there was little time to dwell on the loss, as they hopped a plane to Vancouver right after for a Saturday night tilt with the Canucks.
The Flames will be looking for a measure of revenge against said Canucks after falling 7-1 back on Feb. 24 in Vancouver.
The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak as the Flames went looking for a franchise-record 11th straight victory.
Andrew Mangiapane had the lone Flames tally with 2:07 left in the third period to end Thatcher Demko's shutout bid.
Video: "You have to be comfortable in tight games"
The Canucks are coming off a 1-0 loss to the Red Wings at Rogers Arena on Thursday. It was the third loss in their last four outings.
Pius Suter had the lone marker of the tilt, scoring near the midway point of the third period.
Demko got the start for Vancouver, finishing the night with 34 saves, while Alex Nedeljkovic had a big night with 43 stops in the shutout.
Head coach Bruce Boudreau was - not surprisngly - unhappy with his team's performance.
"The goalie played good, there's no doubt about that, but that first period might have been our worst period all year, including the games we gave up five goals," he told NHL.com's Kevin Woodley. "We must have given the puck away 25 times. That gave them the confidence to play. If you step on them early, they probably say 'Oh, here we go again.' But we didn't. We gave them a chance."
"At the halfway point, we started playing good and created plenty of chances to score," echoed Canucks star Elias Pettersson. "We've just got to bury them. It's one of those days when you just have to tip your hat to the other goalie. We've got to find a way to put the puck in the net."
Woodley reported that Nils Hoglander missed the game with a lower-body injury sustained in practice on Wednesday and isn't expected to play against the Flames.
DEFENSIVE MILESTONES: Two Flames defencemen are near the 100-point mark coming into tonight's game. Rasmus Andersson sits just one point away from notching his 100th career NHL point and Nikita Zadorov sits two away from 100.
CALLE-FORNIA LOVE: Calle Jarnkrok made his Flames debut last night, skating 12:37 of ice time with one shot on goal and three hits. Jarnkrok was also 54% in the faceoff circle for the Flames in his debut skating alongside Andrew Mangiapane and Tyler Toffoli for the Flames.
Flames - Johnny Gaudreau
The Flames phenom had some great chances against the Sabres but wasn't able to find twine. Heading into the Friday tilt, he sat fourth in league scoring with 79 points and continues to be the guy that stirs the Flames offence.
Canucks - J.T. Miller
The forward leads the team in scoring and tallied twice and added a pair of helpers in the Feb. 24 win over the Flames. The former first-round pick (15th overall back in 2011) has already set a personal season high in points with 73, eclipsing the 72 he scored in 2019-20.
The Flames are on the brink of featuring four 30-goal scorers, with Johnny Gaudreau (27 ) and Matthew Tkachuk (29) close to joining Elias Lindholm (30) and Andrew Mangiapane (30). This would be the first time since 1993-94 the Flames would have four 30-goal scorers in one season (1993-94: Gary Roberts - 41, Theo Fleury - 40, Robert Reichel - 40, and Joe Nieuwendyk - 36).
