5 Things - Flames @ Golden Knights

1. Dad Strength

Oh, what a night!

If you could bottle the type of energy and emotion that echoed through the halls of Mullett Arena Thursday, there would be no excuse not to be running through walls constantly.

After all, who doesn’t want to play well in front of their father?

Less than 10 minutes after the dads delivered one of the electric lineup read of the season, Mikael Backlund – playing in his 950th career game, passing Mark Giordano for second all-time with the Flames – got the got the party started.

And what a celebration it was.

Joy.

Revelry.

The whole lot.

Blake Coleman had a three-point (1G, 2A) period as the Flames raced out to a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes. The Coyotes closed to deficit to 4-2 after 40, before Jonathan Huberdeau and Yegor Sharangovich took over, with the latter notching the second hat-trick of his young career as part of a hair-raising 6-2 win in the desert.

Huberdeau finished with a pair of highlight-reel helpers, giving him six points (2G, 4A) on a season-high four-game point spree.

The dads, meanwhile, saved the best for last, lining the tunnel and showering the players with a cascade of cheers and high-fives as the team returned to the dressing room. It was a scene unlike any other – rivalled only by the power of cinema – showing firsthand how the ‘culture change’ promised by GM Craig Conroy in the summer has, indeed, taken hold.

Best of all, the merriment marked what everyone set out for in the first place:

A big two points in the standings.

“I loved it,” said Head Coach Ryan Huska, whose team tallied three on their first four shots of the game.” There was a lot of good that we did early on in the game. I think the lineup read that we used tonight probably put us over the top. But when you get a lead like that, it's hard for teams to come back on, so I was really pleased with it. We need more of those.

“You always want to play well for your dad, whether you're a young kid or an NHL player that makes a lot of money. When dad's around, the guys tend to play better. Probably so, when they watch on TV, I'm sure there's phone calls that they get after the game as well because they love their kids and they want to see them have success. It goes both ways when the players want to perform well when they're in the stands, for sure.”

And, in this case, the dressing room beforehand. 

As part of that stirring lineup read, Jacob’s brother – Tim Markstrom – proudly declared that No. 25 was actually the SECOND-best goalkeeper in the family. Sure, the eldest boy has put together quite the career as a Swedish footballer, but there was no denying the heater that the younger sibling is on right now. 

Jacob had another excellent night between the pipes, finishing with 32 saves. He now has a .933 save percentage dating back to Dec. 18, when he returned after missing more than two weeks with a broken finger.

Following tonight’s game, the Flames will return home and begin a six-game homestand leading into the Bye Week and All-Star Break.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Golden Knights bounced back from a 3-0 loss to the Avalanche on Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime win over the Bruins in the first of a five-game homestand the very next night.

Alex Pietrangelo scored the deciding goal less than a minute into OT, converting a feed on a 2-on-1 with Mark Stone as the Knights picked up just their second win in their last five outings.

Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist for the defending Cup champs, while Calgary native Logan Thompson made 32 saves.

“This is a good win against a really, really good hockey team,” Knights Head Coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters. “But I like the way we want we won. We gutted it out. It's playoff-style hockey out there, and we didn't buckle. They deserve a lot of credit.”

The Golden Knights were outshot 15-6 in the third period and 25-12 in the final 40 minutes, overall, including a blitz of four-shots-on-nine-tries in the waning minutes of regulation.

But Thompson – who improved to 13-8-3 with the win – finished with a season-high .970 save percentage.

Eichel’s goal – a powerplay marker at 7:01 of the middle stanza – ended a 122:41-long goal drought for the Knights.

“We stayed pretty even-keeled tonight,” said Eichel, who enters tonight’s game with a chart-topping 44 points (19G, 25A) for the Knights this year. “Even early when we didn’t capitalize. We had some chances on the powerplay. We didn’t capitalize, but we stuck with it and found a way to get one late.

“We had chances – both sides throughout the game. It was a gutsy effort by our group and good to get two points.”

The Golden Knights currently sit second in the Pacific Division with 53 points (24-13-5), six points back of the first-place Canucks.

3. Fast Facts

Weegar's Magic:

In the first meeting between these two teams on Nov. 27, MacKenzie Weegar netted the overtime winner with just five seconds remaining in the frame. He joined TJ Brodie (4:58 on Feb. 16, 2015), Tommy Albelin (4:56 on Nov. 3, 1999) and Chris Butler (4:56 on Dec. 12, 2013) as the only defencemen in franchise history to score with five seconds or less remaining in an overtime period. The goal was also the first overtime winner of his career, and Weegar has scored in both matchups against Vegas so far this season, and in his last three meetings against the Golden Knights.

Did You Know?

In the last meeting against Vegas, Nazem Kadri scored his ninth career goal against the Golden Knights. Only seven players have more against the Vegas franchise. ... Yegor Sharangovich’s hat-trick was the second of his career, and the first hat-trick by a Flames skater since April 12, 2023 (Nikita Zadorov, 3G vs. SJS). Sharangovich also became the 67th Flames history skater to have a three-goal effort.

Stick tap to Flames PR guru Jordan Bay for compiling these stats. Download the full edition of tonight's Game Notes at the following link:

4. Players To Watch

Flames - Yegor Sharangovich

Gill-ty as charged.

Sharky continues to impress with five goals in his last two games, giving him 17 on the year, and is on pace to smash his previous career high of 24 as he rides a 34-goal pace.

Sharangovich’s 12 tallies since Dec. 9 are third-best in the NHL behind Auston Matthews (17) and Sam Reinhart (13).

Now that’s taking a bite out of life!

Golden Knights - Mark Stone

The Vegas captain is having his healthiest and most productive season since the COVID-delayed 2020-21 campaign, when he played in all but one of the 56 regular-season contests.

Tonight will mark his 43rd appearance of the season (tying him with last year’s total), as he looks to improve on his 12 goals and 40 points, which have him second to Eichel in the team scoring race.

Fun fact: Stone currently sits third in the NHL with 45 takeaways (Eichel is tied for first with Mat Barzal with 47 on the year).

In addition to sitting 1-2 in the team point column, Eichel and Stone are tied at the top with four game-winning goals apiece.

5. Quotable

Blake Coleman on his penalty-killing partner, Yegor Sharangovich, notching his first hat-trick as a Flame:

“Happy for him. He's a great guy. He's got elite finishing skills and it's starting to come in waves for him. I don't think it's a coincidence that No. 10 is really starting to turn it on and has looked really good for us. That line's been good and getting better every game.”

Head Coach Ryan Huska on the chemistry between Sharangovich and his linemates Jonathan Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm:

“They're starting to make some plays together and that's one thing, for sure, that we've talked about all year (with Sharangovich) is his shot-release. He's putting himself in positions now where he's available and Jonathan and Elias are starting to find him.”