5 THINGS - FLAMES @ OILERS

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pre-Game Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Anything Can Happen'
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'It's the Biggest Game of the Year'
STAT PACK
Head-to-Head Stats
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (41)
Goals - Johnny Gaudreau (17)
Oilers:
Points - Connor McDavid (84)
Goals - McDavid (28)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 20% (17th) / PK - 80.4% (11th)
Oilers:
PP - 26.9% (2nd) / PK - 79.4% (17th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 50.92% (10th)
High-Danger Chances: 52.34% (10th)
Oilers:
Shot Attempts: 48.10% (23rd)
High-Danger Chances: 49.68% (16th)

1. HELLO AGAIN OLD FOE

It's never hard to get amped up for the Battle of Alberta.
This late in the season, with a lot on the line, things will be turned up a notch.
The Flames are looking for a big bounce back performance tonight as they visit their bitter rivals to kick off a quick two-game set.
After a 2-1 setback to the Montreal Canadiens Monday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, the margin for error is minimal with the regular season winding down.
"We know about the emotion that comes with these games," Rasmus Andersson said. "We're playing for our playoff lives and we have to go out and play our best game of the season.
"At this point it doesn't really matter who we play, we know what position we are in. We need to have a really good game and take it from there."
With just eight games remaining, the Flames sit six points back of Montreal for the final playoff spot in the North Division. After winning two of three games against the Habs, things are going to go down to the wire.
Sometimes it doesn't matter how you start, it's how you finish.
"It's been a tough year and it's not something we're proud of," Mikael Backlund said. "You want to be a team that finds a way to win and we haven't done that especially in close games. It's been that kind of year of with struggles and up to this point it hasn't been the season we wanted.
"Things haven't gone the way we expected or hoped for and it's been a bit of a snowball effect but we still have a shot here. We never found our rhythm early on in the season but we've been playing better as of late and have to keep it up."

2. THE OTHER SIDE

The Oilers head into the clash in the midst of a stretch of three games in four nights, and fresh off a 3-1 win vs. Winnipeg last night.
With a mark of 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, one of those regulation losses came to the hands of the Flames back on April 10 in a 5-0 decision. Since then, Edmonton has found success going 4-1 and currently riding a two-game win streak.
"We are continuing to try to find the right mix," Oilers head coach Dave Tippet said after Wednesday's win. "We have lots of guys who want to play and lots of options and we'll need that depth with so many games in the next few nights.
"We're trying to build our team game … get it moving forward where we want it to be. All the little parts of the game that need to be clicking at the right time, that's what we're working on every day."
The Oilers currently lead the Battle of Alberta season series 5-3, with the rivals wrapping things up Saturday night for the final meeting.
"We know every time we play them it's going to be a good battle," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "Tomorrow's no different and Saturday is no different, we know the position they're in right now."

3. WELCOME BACK

Rookie defenceman and off-season free-agent signee Connor Mackey was recalled from the Stockton Heat of the AHL and assigned to the taxi squad on Monday. Mackey took part in practice Wednesday morning, his first with the big club since he was sent down to the minors on Feb. 20.
In 27 games played with Stockton, the 24-year-old racked up 16 points (3G, 13A). He has one assist in three career games with the Flames.
"I'm definitely grateful to be back in the NHL and wanting to make the most of my time here," Mackey said. "Getting the reps in the American league playing top minutes in all situations was huge for my development and I'm excited to show what I can do because I think I'm definitely a different player now.
"I'm going to take it day-by-day and stay patient. It's all a process and I'm looking forward to getting help from the coaching staff and veterans while I'm here. I'm ready to show how I've improved if I get another opportunity in the lineup."

4. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Elias Lindholm
Just get him the puck.
Lindholm has been on a tear with four goals in the past five games, and nine points overall (5G, 4A) in the last 10 skates. With 41 points on the season, he continues to lead the Flames attack and in a shortened NHL season, is just 13 points away from matching his point total of 54 set last season which he finished with in 70 games.
The 26-year-old has been leaned on heavily as of late with over 20 minutes of ice time the past two tilts and sits second in team power play scoring with 16.
Oilers - Connor McDavid
No surprise here as the NHL scoring leader has continued to pile up the points.
In his past five games, the centreman has collected 15 points (5G, 10A) and has 84 points (28G, 56A) in just 46 tilts. McDavid has also produced 15 points in eight games to lead the Oilers scoring in the season series vs. the Flames.

5. QUOTABLE

"These guys have skill sets different from each other and it's up to them to use them. Our team defence is a lot better than it was, it's gone from the back page to the middle of the page in terms of goals-against-average and that's not necessarily a result in how they defend but how they move pucks. That's something the team needs to continue to work and get better on and they've done a really good job of that lately."
- Head coach Darryl Sutter on the play of the defensive group as of late