5 THINGS - FLAMES @ CANUCKS

FLAMES (34-26-15) @ CANUCKS (34-34-6)

8 p.m. MT | TV: Sportsnet | RADIO: Sportsnet 960 The FAN

2022-23 Season Series: 1-0-1

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Natasha Staniszewski
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Fighting For Our Lives'
Projected Lineup
Say What" 'Do Or Die Now'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Tyler Toffoli (67)
Goals - Toffoli (31)
Canucks:
Points - Elias Pettersson (95)
Goals - Andrei Kuzmenko (37)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 20.4% (21st) / PK - 82.1% (9th)
Canucks:
PP - 22.8% (9th) / PK - 70.5% (32nd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 56.87% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 52.94% (11th)
Canucks:
Shot Attempts: 48.11% (23rd)
High-Danger Chances: 47.82% (23rd)
###

1. THE PLAYOFF PUSH
   We're beyond the 'hope' stage now.
   What was a mountainous climb only weeks earlier is now a so-close-you-can-taste-it, real-life possibility. With seven games left in the regular season, the Flames are hot on the heels of the Winnipeg Jets for the final playoff spot, and have every reason to believe in what they're capable of.
   "We've said it - even when we were the furthest away - we still believe in this group," Rasmus Andersson said following Thursday's practice. "We're going to fight for every single point there is."
   If you go by the numbers, the oddsmakers aren't quite as keen, with sites like MoneyPuck.com giving the Flames a 30.3% shot at making the dance.
   Keep in mind, it was only a week ago when that same source was offering the Flames a paltry, 10.3% chance.
   That's not a criticism. The model is based purely on numbers and with the Flames needing to make up ground, the Jets have the easier path in. Winnipeg, though, is winless in its past two, including a shutout loss to the last-place San Jose Sharks on Tuesday - the same day the Flames took care of business and won their second straight, 2-1 over the LA Kings.
   That's how quickly things can change.
   "You want to climb in the standings," said Jonathan Huberdeau. "It doesn't matter what the other team does. It's about you getting your two points so you can go ahead. That's our main focus. ... It's important not to look ahead or at the other team and how they're struggling. We have to go game-by-game."
   It's been a rollercoaster season for the Flames, but it seems that ride isn't ending anytime soon.
   Strap in.
   These final seven games are going to be a doozy.
   "I'm optimistic," said Huberdeau, whose Flames are 7-3-2 in their last 12. "I think we have a lot of great guys in the room, a lot of good veterans, good leaders. We know it's a good (challenge), but at the same time, we want to have fun doing it - and doing it together.
   "(Whether) you finish first or eighth, it's the same thing nowadays. It's the way you finish that people are going to remember."

2. KNOW YOUR ENEMY
They may be well out of the playoff picture, but the Canucks have been rolling of late, going 10-2-1 in their last 13 games, including a tidy, 3-0-1 mark in their last four.
Even their latest - a 6-5 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues - can be looked at a positive, as the team rallied from a 5-2 deficit to force OT, before Jakub Vrana scored the deciding marker early in the extra frame.
Quinn Hughes (2G, 1A) and Brock Boeser (1G, 2) led the way with three points each, while Vancouver's top sniper, Andrei Kuzmenko, continued his torrid rookie season with a pair of goals to give him 37 on the year. Thatcher Demko stopped 25 of 31 shots, moving him to 11-13-3 after missing a chunk of the year due to injury.
The Canucks are now 16-9-3 under Rick Tocchet, who assumed the head-coaching duties after Bruce Boudreau was unceremoniously let go on Jan. 22.
"We battled hard," Tocchet told NHL.com in St. Louis. "There's a bunch of guys who really battled hard for us there in the third period. I went to three lines and got us back in the game."
This is the first of a five-game homestand for the Canucks, who haven't hosted the Flames at Rogers Arena all season.
Now, they'll do it twice in the span of right days, with the Flames returning for the fifth and final game of this long home set, next Saturday, April 8.
### 3. FAST FACTS
The Flames have a record of 13-6-3 against Pacific Division opponents and are 22-14-7 against Western Conference foes this season.
BACK-ING AT UP:
Mikael Backlund tallied an assist on Andrew Mangiapane's game-opening goal on Tuesday against Los Angeles to eclipse the 50-point mark on the season. Backlund has now recorded 50-or-more points in a season for the second time in his career (53 in 2016-17) and is just three points away from setting a career high. Backlund's 50 points are the fourth-most on the Flames this season. Backlund has seven powerplay points since March 1, which leads all Swedish-born skaters in the NHL.
DID YOU KNOW?
MacKenzie Weegar scored his first goal as a Flame in the last meeting between these two teams, back on Dec. 31, 2022.
Tonight's game will be the 297th all-time regular-season meeting between the Flames and Canucks, with the Flames holding a record of 149-97-33-18. ... The Flames have out-scored the Canucks 1003-924 in that span.

Stick tap to Flames Public Relations Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes.
Follow him and the Flames PR team @NHLFlamesPR on Twitter for more.
### 4. PLAYERS TO WATCH
Flames - Walker Duehr
Duehr scored the eventual game-winner on Tuesday and now has goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native now has six goals and four helpers on the year, including points in five of his last six outings.
His six goals are currently the fifth-most among American-born rookies in the NHL this season, despite 14 other American-born rookies playing more games.
The 25-year-old enters tonight's game on a three-game point streak and has - in the simplest terms - been one of the biggest difference-makers in all three.
Canucks - Elias Pettersson
Mark Lazerus from The Athletic posed the following question on Twitter the other day:
"Is Elias Pettersson having the quietest 100-point season in recent memory?"
If it weren't for Oilers pivot Ryan Nugent-Hopkins going off in this, his 12th season on tour, Pettersson's immaculate campaign would certainly be the runaway favourite.
But let's be clear: Whether it's 'quiet' or not has little bearing on how impressive it all is. The 24-year-old has obliterated the glass ceiling he set himself last year by a whole 24 points (and counting), and enters tonight's clash on a 13-game point streak (7G, 12A). In a span dating back to March 4, he ranks seventh in league scoring.
As one of the NHL's premiere shooting threats, the Flames will have to keep their eyes locked on No. 40 here tonight.
### 5. ROCK ON
Michael Stone was back at practice Thursday after missing more than five weeks with a lower-body injury. It goes without saying, but the vet is eager to strap on the pads again.
"That's not my call," Stone said when asked if he was playing tonight in Vancouver, "but I'm ready whenever I'm needed."
Stone last played on Feb. 18 against the New York Rangers and has been skating on his own for about a week-and-a-half. Despite the long layoff, he says the body is feeling good. The toughest part has been watching from the sidelines as the Flames experience the ups and downs of a playoff race.
"Everybody's still pushing for the same goal," he said. "We want to get in. I haven't seen or heard anybody feeling otherwise.
"There's no reason not to believe it, to be honest. We've had some games where we 100% should be a playoff team. And then we've had games where we've kind of dipped a little bit. But those games where we've played playoff hockey in, there's no reason you shouldn't be in the playoffs."