5 THINGS - FLAMES @ STARS

FLAMES (27-23-13) @ STARS (34-16-13)

6:30 p.m. MT | TV: Sportsnet Flames, West | RADIO: Sportsnet 960 The FAN

2022-23 Season Series: 1-0-0

NEED-TO-KNOW
ONLINE 50/50
Purchase your online 50/50 tickets for a chance at some big cash!
GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Projected Lineup
Say What: 'Get Back To That Pace'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
WANT TO WIN SOME CASH?!

Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Tyler Toffoli (53)
Goals - Tyler Toffoli (25)
Stars:
Points - Jason Robertson (79)
Goals - Jason Robertson (37)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 19.5% (23rd) / PK - 81% (13th)
Stars:
PP - 22.9% (9th) / PK - 82.9% (4th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 57.02% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 52.52% (13th)
Stars:
Shot Attempts: 51.38% (11th)
High-Danger Chances: 52.81% (12th)
By their own admission, Saturday's performance against the Wild in a 3-0 loss was far from the Flames best.
"I think it was kind of flat on our end from start to finish," Milan Lucic said afterwards. "At this point of the year, especially, you should be excited and have a lot of energy to play every single night. That's on us as individuals and that's on us as a team. As players, it's a big part of our preparation. Energy is something we have to create within."
The setback keeps them at 67 points on the year, six points out of a playoff spot with 19 games remaining in the regular season.
"We've got to find a push, we've got to find some energy," Rasmus Andersson said. "It's frustrating. Very mediocore, no energy ... we've got to find that push.
"Everyone has got to be better. You can't look around. You've just got to look at yourself. We're at that point right now where you really need to look at yourself in the mirror and you've got to find your game, that you're good at, and contribute more to the team. It's not on one player, it's on 23 guys."
Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves in the outing.
"I think it's two games in a row that we've got really good goaltending," coach Darryl Sutter said. "Goaltending gave us a chance to win but I think (we had) very little run support for him, especially from our top guys."

The Stars are coming off a statement win on Saturday, downing the Avalanche 7-3 to take first place in the Central Division.
"We're not planning any parades," Dallas coach Peter DeBoer told NHL.com. "It was a really good effort, and now we have to keep building on it. I don't want to undersell the importance of the win because it's an important win, but that doesn't mean all of a sudden we're the best team in the league because we beat the Stanley Cup shampions 7-3 tonight. We've got a lot of work left to do. We know (Colorado) is better than how they played, and we have to keep building on this for the next 20 games until the playoffs start."
Jason Robertson led the way with two goals and three points, Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz each put forth two-point efforts, and goaltender Jake Oettinger made 32 saves in the win.
Pavelski broke out of a 19-game goalless slump on Saturday, netting his 15th of the year against the Avs.
"We knew it was coming, it felt like it was coming for a week or two now," Pavelski told NHL.com, referring to his scoring slump. "When you're going good, you never think you'll find yourself in one of those. Hasn't been the first one, probably not the last, so you try to focus on the little things and keep doing those things well, making the plays, finding yourself around the net. It's good to see them go in."
HEY SHORTY:
Mikael Backlund enters tonight's game with 15 career short-handed goals and is just one shy of surpassing Kent Nilsson (16) for the second-most in franchise history, trailing only Theo Fleury (28). Backlund is one of five Flames to score on the penalty kill, with the others being Dillon Dube (2), Blake Coleman (2), Trevor Lewis (1), and Elias Lindholm (1). As a team, the Flames are tied for the 10th most shorthanded tallies in the NHL (7).
AHEAD BY A CENTURY:
Newest Flames defenceman Troy Stecher, who was acquired on Friday from the Arizona Coyotes, needs four points to hit 100 in his career. the 28-year-old has played 421 games in his career, scoring 15 goals and 81 assists. This season, he's suited up for 62 games and has seven assists.
Flames - Blake Coleman
The Texan has found his groove in the second half of the season and has scored twice in his last three games. While the Flames didn't get the results they were hoping for in last week's contests, Coleman has created plenty of chances and generated energy with his up-tempo style of play. Through the games against the Bruins, Leafs, and Wild, the 31-year-old has 12 shots.
Stars - Jason Robertson
The kid is alright.
The 23-year-old leads the way offensively for the Stars, posting 37 goals and 79 points through 63 games this season. He's coming off of a two-goal performance on Saturday and has logged six points in his last three skates.
Milan Lucic on seeing more pace from the entire group as the team goes through the stretch drive:
"Energy is something we've got to create within."