5 THINGS - FLAMES @ KRAKEN

FLAMES (23-17-9) @ KRAKEN (28-14-5)

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

2022-23 Season Series: 1-1-0

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Natasha Staniszewski
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Say What - 'It Was A Dogfight'
Tanev On Injured Reserve
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (42)
Goals - Nazem Kadri (19)
Kraken:
Points - Andre Burakovsky (39)
Goals - Jared McCann (23)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 19.4% (23rd) / PK - 82.1% (6th)
Kraken:
PP - 21.3% (18th) / PK - 71.5% (31st)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.88% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 51.97% (14th)
Kraken:
Shot Attempts: 51.84% (9th)
High-Danger Chances: 48.70% (21st)
###

1. LET'S GET KRAKEN
   The Flames are looking bounce back after falling 5-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks last night at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
   Jonathan Huberdeau tallied the lone Flames marker on a sensational solo effort, following a sweet setup from Nazem Kadri, but that was the only one of Calgary's 35 shots to find twine. Jacob Markstrom made 24 stops for the homeside and was arguably the team's best player - especially early, when the Hawks produced all sorts of quality looks in a sluggish opening frame for the locals.
   Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk, Jason Dickinson, Sam Lafferty and Connor Murphy (empty net) all scored for Chicago, while Jaxson Stauber - making only his second NHL start - was excellent, turning aside 18 third-period pucks to close out the victory.
   "Obviously, it's unacceptable," Huberdeau said. "At home, and we need these points right now. The way we came out and the way we played, too many odd-man rushes. They had so many chances. I feel for Marky, because he's been playing good lately and we're not playing good in front of him."
   Mikael Backlund bristled at the idea that the Flames took their Western counterparts lightly. But he echoed Huberdeau's thoughts and described the loss to the last-place Hawks as "unacceptable" considering the tight playoff race they're in.
   "We need to come out with more urgency and energy in those games and be better from the start," he said. "When we've done that, we've beat teams that are below us in the standings."
   The Flames enter the day out of a playoff spot and are six points back of both the Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights, who currently hold down the top spot in the Pacific.
   With this being the last game before the bye week, the Flames - who boarded a flight for the Emerald City late last night - know it's not getting any easier with the high-flying Kraken on deck.
   Simply put, they have to be better.
   A lot better.
   "It was a big game to start with, but now it's an even bigger game," Backlund said. "We want to finish off well before the break and feel a little better about ourselves, especially after the way things went tonight."

2. KNOW YOUR ENEMY
It's Jan. 27.
Thirty-five games remain on the schedule.
And yet, the Kraken already have more wins (28) and have surpassed last year's inaugural point total in one of the most incredible team turnarounds in recent memory.
Their latest, a 6-1 thumping of the battered and bruised Vancouver Canucks, has given the Kraken five of a possible six points on their current homestand and a share of the Pacific Division lead entering tonight's clash with the Flames.
Leading goal-getter Jared McCann paced the Kraken with a tally and two assists, while Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice and Adam Larsson, Vince Dunn, Yanni Gourde and Jordan Eberle all had multi-point efforts. Martin Jones improved to a stunning 23-6-3 with 19 stops in the victory.
"We played 60 minutes and made it hard right away from the start," Seattle Head Coach Dave Hakstol told reporters afterward. "We played a real direct game, did everything pretty quick. We sustained that through - for sure, the first 40 minutes - and for the majority of the 60 minutes, we didn't give up very much because of that."
The Kraken jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the front half of the first, adding another three in the second, before Conor Garland got the Canucks on the board late in the frame.
Ryan Donato then put the game away with an insurance marker early in the third.
The Kraken's potent offence has been a story all year, with Seattle sitting fourth with an average 3.66 goals per game, trailing only the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers.
However, it wasn't all good news for the Kraken on Wednesday. Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers took an open-ice run at rookie all-star Matty Beniers early in the second period.
Beniers - who scored the game winner when these two teams met back on Nov. 1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome - did not return to the game after crashing violently to the ice.
"He was not available for the third period," was the only update Hakstol provided.
### 3. FAST FACTS
PNW:
Flames have an 8-3-2 record against Pacific Division opponents this season and a 14-9-4 mark, overall, against the West.
Since the beginning of December, Calgary is 5-1-2 in inner-division contests, out-scoring their opponents 28-21 in those games.
KRAKEN KILLERS:
In six career games against the Kraken, Noah Hanifin has two goals and seven assists for a team-leading nine points. This year, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Toffoli each have a pair of tallies, along with an assist, for three points, while Elias Lindholm has three helpers in the two previous meetings.

4. PLAYERS TO WATCH
Flames - Jakob Pelletier
With the Flames down by three in the third period last night, Pelletier was bumped up to the second line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri.
He was excellent. All over it.
Buzzing.
The youngster finished with three shots in 15:21 of ice time, including 2:47 on the powerplay.
While there's no guarantee that Pelletier will be back on that unit tonight, it's worth looking at what the trio was able to do in limited time together.
In 3:31 5-on-5, they had an 88.89% possession rate (8-1), while out-chancing the Hawks 5-0, with three coming from the high-danger areas.
Kraken - Jordan Eberle
Eberle went four games without a point before notching a pair of helpers against the Canucks. The Calgary native enters tonight's game with 10 goals and 37 points on the year, putting him on pace for his most productive season since the 2013-14 campaign when he was a fourth-year member of the Oilers (65 points).
Eberle's career high is 76 points (34G, 42), achieved during his sophomore season in Edmonton - more than a decade ago.
### 5. QUOTABLE
Darryl Sutter on how last night's game played out:
"I think we had a sluggish start. They scored late in the first and then Jonathan scores to make it 1-1. Tied after the first. Thought we made some good adjustments after the first period in terms of what we wanted to do different. But made some glaring errors on the backend that cost us some goals against. Then, it's 4-1."
On being without Chris Tanev:
"That's part of being a team. You've got some defencemen that - even though they're younger guys - have to take some leadership in it, too, in terms of direction and poise and that sort of thing."