5 THINGS - FLAMES @ MAPLE LEAFS

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GAME DAY VIDEO
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Projected Lineup
Say What: 'Embrace That Part of the Game'
STAT PACK
Head-to-Head Stats
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (28)
Goals - Johnny Gaudreau (12)
Maple Leafs:
Points - Mitch Marner (40)
Goals - Auston Matthews (21)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 20.9% (15th) / PK - 79.2% (14th)
Maple Leafs:
PP - 28.9% (3rd) / PK - 75.3% (22nd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 51.11% (11th)
High-Danger Chances: 51.53% (12th)
Maple Leafs:
Shot Attempts: 49.94% (13th)
High-Danger Chances: 52.33% (9th)

1. ABOUT LAST NIGHT

Give 'em credit.
With a tough loss to a scorned rival fresh in their minds, a long flight east the very next morning, and a date with one of the NHL's top teams on deck, all eyes were on The Response™.
Nothing about it was easy and it wasn't a Picasso at times, either, but the Flames did what they needed to, converted on their chances and laid it all on the line as they earned a massive two points in the standings.
Matthew Tkachuk, Derek Ryan, Chris Tanev and Mark Giordano supplied the offence for the visitors, while Jacob Markstrom stopped 24 shots - including all eight he faced in the final 20 miles.
"I thought we played really well," said Head Coach Darryl Sutter. "I thought we checked well and we didn't give up very (many) odd-man rushes. Obviously, they're going to get scoring chances on their powerplay and off their cycle with the skill they have, but overall, it was not a track meet game at all. We have a team that can play together, and if we eliminate the little mistakes in our game and stay of the penalty box, we can play with them. So, we did.
"If you look in the third period, we killed two penalties and they were two of our centremen who kill penalties in the penalty box and we got through it, so the mindset was right and hopefully we can use it as a stepping-stone. I said that to our players after the Edmonton game - I said their best players didn't beat us. We pretty much took some penalties and took us out of it and they scored some goals at big times. In this division, that's the way it works."
The Flames, who were dressed in their iconic, home-red 'fits - countering Toronto's green-and-white-striped St. Pats regalia - had 2-0 and 3-1 leads, but the homeside battled back to tie it twice before Giordano's powerplay marker at 12:33 of the second put the road warriors up for good.
"Huge win, every game's big now, so every two points is huge," Ryan said. "We fought pretty hard tonight for those two points and against a really good team. I thought we defended a little bit better than we did against Edmonton in the last game, but we still have a lot of improvement to come in that regard.
"Obviously, the penalty-kill was a lot better tonight (3-for-3), and it came up huge for us in the third. Guys battled, dug deep there in the third and gutted out a nice road win."
The Flames are now two points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot in the Scotia North Division.

2. 'FEARLESS'

At 37 and with the game on the line, Mark Giordano proved - yet again - there's plenty of tread left on those tires.
His goal three seconds into a second-period powerplay stood as the game-winner Friday, but it was the moxie, the courage and the willpower that helped bring it home down the stretch.
Giordano finished the night with a team-leading five blocked shots, including three on a pair of Toronto powerplays that came hot off the stick of John Tavares and the Rocket Richard frontrunner, Auston Matthews.
But even the welts of an explosive Leafs offence couldn't wipe the smile off his face when asked about his daring, defensive exploits during the customary, post-game Zoom meeting.
"Definitely the penalty-kill for me," the captain laughed when asked which he was prouder of - his powerplay howitzer, or the bastion of bravery in front of goaltender Jacob Markstrom. "They both feel really good, not going to lie. That's a pretty good powerplay over there and they've got some elite players."
The skipper's big game not only caught the attention of fans and the media, but of his teammates, too.
When your leader is out there putting his body on the line and working as hard as he is from sunup to sundown, it's impossible not to feed of that emotion and bring your best to the table as well.
That kind of gamesmanship, it's infectious - and it's not the first time this year that 'G' has willed his team to victory.
"He was great," said Derek Ryan. "Just kind of highlighted there in those kills, he was the fearless leader, willing to get in front of the shots. He had - I don't know - at least two, three big shot blocks there in the end and he was great for us.
"He was amped up and I thought he brought his A-Game. That's kind of what we've talked about in the dressing room, everyone trying to be anywhere from 2-to-5% better and I think he was probably than that tonight, he was our leader and helped us gut out those two points."

3. BLOCK PARTY

As good as he was, Giordano wasn't the only Flame in need of some rest and a Costco-sized bag of frozen peas.
The team combined for a season-high 29 blocked shots in Friday's encounter, including 14 alone on shots from Morgan Reilly (5), Mitch Marner (5) and Auston Matthews (4).
With a stick tap to

, that's the most blocked shots the Flames have had in a single game since they had the same number in a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Dec. 17, 2015. It's the only the 13th time in franchise history they've had that many in a game since the NHL began tracking the stat.
According to
Natural Stat Trick
, the Flames had 22 blocked shots during 5-on-5 play, while the remaining seven came during an immaculate, six-minute period of the penalty-kill.
"We did a great job killing as a group," Tkachuk said. "Gio with some big blocks, Doc with a big block - everybody with some big blocks. You can go down the list. And then, obviously, an unreal save from Marky and that was a big point in the game."

The Flames know they have to be better, acknowledging that a high number of blocked shots is generally a sign that you were behind the eight-ball in terms of puck possession. But at the same time, you can't help but admire the commitment to the cause - especially on the heels of a disappointing setback only 48 hours prior.
Both can be true.
The point is, they got the job done. They bent, but didn't break. And they worked their skates off to ensure they bagged the clean, two points, no matter what.
That needs to be applauded.

4. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Derek Ryan
Not only did Ryan have the goal and lead the Flames in puck possession, scoring-chance and high-danger percentage, he also did what no other player - on either side - could.
In his 10:33 of 5-on-5 ice time, the Maple Leafs were unable to record a single shot on goal.
The veteran has thrived under Sutter and continues to play an integral role in the club's resurgence.
Maple Leafs - Joe Thornton
Jumbo Joe was flying out there on Friday and was the catalyst for a large portion of the Leafs' offence. He made a dandy pass to a hard-charging Jason Spezza that looked to be a sure goal midway through the third, but Markstrom snared it to preserve the lead.
In all, Thornton topped the Buds with an 85.71% shot share, and was involved in nine of Toronto's 29 chances, including six from the high-danger areas.

5. QUOTABLE

"Honestly, I've been in that situation a little bit earlier in the year, where I'd kind of go to the net and try to look for a shot-tip. I think (Chris Tanev) has had me in that position and it didn't work out. This time, I kind of held high in that soft spot there in the high slot - it was wide open - and I think that's the better play, as that's open more often than not, because their team is crashing back to the net to try and recover. Yeah, I think I made an adjustment there and it was a great play by (Rasmus Andersson)."
- Derek Ryan on his goal in Friday's 4-3 victory