5 THINGS - FLAMES @ SENATORS

NEED-TO-KNOW
ONLINE 50/50
Purchase your online 50/50 tickets for a chance at some big cash! Sales open at 9 a.m. MT
GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pre-Game Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Projected Lineup
Say What: 'Trying to Get Myself Going'
STAT PACK
Head-to-Head Stats
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
WANT TO WIN SOME CASH?!

Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (20)
Goals - Gaudreau (9)
Senators:
Points - Brady Tkachuk (16)
Goals - Tkachuk (9)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 21.3% (15th) / PK - 78.2% (17th)
Senators:
PP - 15.7% (25th) / PK - 75.3% (24th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 51.17% (9th)
High-Danger Chances: 50.14% (18th)
Senators:
Shot Attempts: 50.02% (12th)
High-Danger Chances: 50.12% (19th)

1. LAST TIME OUT

They had to be better.
Following a 6-1 loss at the hands of the Senators less than 48 hours earlier, the Flames were bombarded with questions about 'the response.'
Well ...
They got it, all right.
The Flames were ready to play from puck drop, and exploded for six goals as they took down the Sens in the second of four straight against their North Division counterparts.
Juuso Valimaki, Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, Andrew Mangiapane and Matthew Tkachuk all scored for the visitors, while David Rittich had an equally decadent bounce-back, stopping 31 of the 34 shots he faced after getting pulled in the previous meeting.
"That was a big win for us," Backlund game. "It was a tough game last game; it didn't go the way we wanted. We needed to be better and we knew that going into today. Right from the first 10 minutes, we took charge of the game and carried that through the rest of the day. They had some pushes, they have some good, young players that can make things happen, but we did a good job."
The key for the Flames now is ensuring it isn't a one-off.
In what's been a see-saw of affairs in these all-Canadian mini-series', it's prudent to expect the Sens to be better as they, too, look to bounce back and avenge a leaky, home-ice defeat.
"I think the start is going to be huge for us," said Noah Hanifin. "Last game, we had a good start. Right from the get-go, we got to our game - we were playing fast, we were getting pucks in, we weren't turning the puck over. We were playing the right way.
"Ottawa's a really hard-working team. They're a young team, but they work extremely hard and they play with detail, so anytime you run into a team like that, you know it's going to be a battle, every game, no matter what. I think if we can get off to a good start like we did last game and put them on their heels, that will be to our benefit."

2. 'BACK TO THE GYM!'

There's a reason this guy is a Norris Trophy champ and the reigning winner of the Mark Messier Leadership Award.
Simply put, he's one of the best ever to wear the 'C.'
Whether it's by setting a standard for his band-mates, eating up minutes or making a dent on the score sheet, Mark Giordano is the epitome of power and influence.
And when the situation calls for it, he elevates.
"I thought he was outstanding from the time he woke up yesterday," said Head Coach Geoff Ward. "He willed our team to be prepared and to get ready to go. There were other people as well, but he was really at the front of it. That's what you need. You need leadership like that and he's able to deliver it and our players follow it. That was a perfect example.
"He was absolutely gigantic."
'G,' as he known in the Flames locker-room, finished with one assist, two hits, and a team-leading 21:39 of ice time on Saturday.
Mostly, though, his performance will be remembered for one thing and one thing only:
The motor-mouth.
"I've been doing that for a long time,"
Giordano said
. "Maybe a little more animated last game and that's all a result of trying to get myself going and getting my game to where it needs to be emotionally. I need more of that in my game. I was trying to get myself going. It's funny how many texts and stuff I got from my parents about that."
It started in warmup when a video montage on the Sportsnet broadcast revealed the captain barking at his teammates to help get them fired up. Then, in the third period, he delivered a thunderous check on Senators forward Connor Brown, who got lit up in another fashion in the immediate aftermath:
"Back to the gym!" the skipper shouted.
Turns out, Giordano and Brown - a couple of good ol' Toronto boys - trained together in the off-season few years back.
Not hard enough, it seems, in one's opinion.
"Oh man, he had some extra juice (on Saturday)," said fellow defenceman Rasmus Andersson, who admits that clever chirp had him engulfed in a full-on belly laugh at that end of the bench. "He was humming all over the place. I told him, 'I want you like this every game!' He goes, 'Oh yeah, I'll be like this on (Monday) again, chirping and all that stuff.'"

3. YOU AGAIN?!

Fourteen days is a long time to stare at the eggshell-coloured walls of a Kanata hotel room.
"I think I was driving her a little bit crazy," Ryan Dzingel said, fresh out of his government-mandated 14-day quarantine with his wife, Elise. "I'm not a guy who likes to be alone. I've got to have stuff to do and people to talk to and people to annoy.
"She was definitely annoyed and glad that I went to the rink today."
Fortunately for the Senators, Dzingel's first day at his 'new' workplace went smoother than most.
After all, the man needs no introduction.
The one-time Sen is back in black silks after spending the past three seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes. He was re-acquired from the Canes in a swap for Cedric Paquette and Alex Galchenyuk on Feb. 13, returning to the organization that drafted him in the seventh round in 2011.
The speedy left-winger was back in his old digs, practicing at the Canadian Tire Centre for the first time Sunday, as he looks to shake off the rush from an extended layoff.
"It's been a long time since I was excited and nervous at practice," Dzingel said. "It was an awesome day and I can't wait to get on the ice and get things going for a real game, because it's been 16 days and I'm itching to get out there.
"Whether you're 30 years old or 15 going to a new high school, you're always nervous meeting new people. But to come to a team that I'm so familiar with, with the people, the trainers, and all the people that make this such a great organization, it was easy walking in. ... Felt like I never left."
Dzingel tallied 62 goals and 126 points over four seasons with the Senators from 2015 to 2019.
He had two goals and two helpers in 11 games before the trade back to Ottawa earlier this month.
Dzingel won't be in the lineup tonight, but could very well factor in at some point over the next week, with the Flames playing the Sens in three of their next four games.

4. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Sean Monahan
With goals in two of his last four games, including a beauty on Matt Murray in Saturday's matinee, Calgary's perennial 30-goal man appears to have turned a corner.
Monahan, who missed a pair of games last week with a lower-body injury, has had some extra punch to his game since returning to the lineup.
"Everybody's got bumps and bruises and stuff like that, and sometimes your body needs a break," Monahan said. "That's what we talked with the training staff about and felt that was for the best. You never want to miss games, regardless of whether you're injured or not, but yeah, I feel a lot better now and it was good for me."

Senators - Brady Tkachuk
The mercury appears to be rising.
Late in Saturday's game, Tkachuk and Mark Giordano had a verbal exchange that had older brother Matthew smiling on the Flames bench. Hey, it was only a matter of time before either one of the Tkachuk brothers got under the skin of the opposition.
Round 3 of the Tkachuk Bowl could have a very different feel to it.

5. QUOTABLE

"We've used the same process for a year now. We believe in it and it's given us good results and the guys have confidence in it. The other thing it does is that there's always a place that the guys can come back to. It gives them a little bit of stability, they understand where they need to look if things aren't going as well as they want them to. It takes a lot of uncertainty out of the way for them. For us, we stick by the process, it's something we believe in, and it's a good place for us to start when things aren't going well."
- Geoff Ward on handling emotional swings from game to game