5 Things - Flames vs. Blue Jackets

1. Home Stretch

To a man, the Flames understand the importance of the next two games.

That stretch begins Thursday, when Calgary hosts Columbus at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Get tickets

Just 120 minutes of hockey remain before the Flames will break for the annual All-Star weekend, which means the locals have only two opportunities to get back on track, and feel good about their game before taking a pause on the regular season.

Captain Mikael Backlund figures tonight’s fixture could help set the tone for the days and even weeks ahead.

“We want to finish on a really good note here next two games, go into the break with a good feeling,” he said Wednesday. “It’s a big difference going into the break being above or below .500, so these are two big games for us.”

Backlund and his mates know a lot about being in and around that .500 mark, too.

The Flames have been no lower than three games under, and no higher than three games over, since a 2-1 win in Montreal back on Nov. 14 - a stretch of 33 games.

But to get back on the positive side of the ledger, Head Coach Ryan Huska believes things need to tighten up against a Blue Jackets team that’s won only once in its last six tries.

“When you look at our team over the last three games, I think we’ve been very loose,” Huska said when asked Wednesday how his group can support each other better on the ice. “That’s not a great way to play for a teammate.”

Tightening things up is sure to make life easier on goaltenders Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar, both of whom have played admirably over this recent three-game blip.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the duo have combined to turn aside 17 of 19 high-danger chances over the past three contests.

During that span, Vladar has managed a .920 save percentage too, despite dealing with the second-shortest average shot distance (31.36 feet) of any goaltender in the NHL over the past week.

If clamping down, and playing as one is the goal, tonight offers up the next test.

It’s just about time to get to work.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Blue Jackets arrive in town following a 4-1 setback in Edmonton Tuesday night, a contest which marked the start of a five-game road trip that also includes stops in Vancouver, Seattle and St. Louis.

Evander Kane broke a 1-1 tie just before the five-minute mark of the third period in Tuesday’s game at Rogers Place, as Columbus fell to 5-10-5 away from home this season.

Head coach Pascal Vincent’s group stayed with the Oilers for 40 minutes, before things got away from them in the third period.

“I think in the third period, you saw a team that turned the dial up a little bit,” Vincent told reporters following the game, “and the other team didn’t sustain our way of playing.

“I think the intentions were right, we just didn’t execute it physically, we’re just not there yet.”

Tonight’s contest will be Johnny Gaudreau’s second as a visitor to the 'Dome; he comes into the contest leading Columbus with 29 points, while his 22 helpers are second-most on the squad.

3. Fast Facts

2023-24 Season Series:

The two-game season set concludes tonight at the 'Dome, with Columbus holding the edge after they scored a 3-1 win on home ice Oct. 20.

Justin Danforth recorded the eventual game-winner for the Blue Jackets 8:45 into the third period.

Elias Lindholm had the lone Flames marker, scoring short-handed with just over nine minutes left in the contest.

Spencer Martin, who since has joined the Carolina Hurricanes organization, was the winning goaltender on that October Friday evening, making 36 saves.

Did You Know?

With goals from MacKenzie Weegar and Noah Hanifin Tuesday against St. Louis, the Flames are up to 30 tallies from blueliners this season, the third-highest total in the NHL.

Weegar leads the way for Calgary with 11 markers, while Hanifin now has eight.

Also, Weegar became just the third defenceman in Flames history to record 10 even-strength goals in his team’s first 47 games of the regular season, joining Al MacInnis (1987-88) and Phil Housley (1995-96).

4. Quotable

Flames head coach Ryan Huska on the expectations on home ice:

“We have, we think, the greatest fans in the league, and they want to watch the team play hard which, I think, for most nights they do. They want to see a team that’s passionate, and playing hard as a team, because that’s really what this city is all about. So it’s important that we come out here and put on that type of effort every time we step on the ice.”

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Yegor Sharangovich

Sharky lit the lamp for the 20th time as a Flame Tuesday night, reaching the 20-goal milestone for the second time in his NHL career.

It’s been a banner January for the 25-year-old. Since Jan. 9, he holds a share of the league lead with eight tucks.

He joins Blake Coleman as the two Calgary skaters to reach 20 goals to this point of the regular season.

Blue Jackets - Dmitri Voronkov

The 23-year-old scored the Blue Jackets’ lone goal Tuesday night in Edmonton and over his past three games, he’s lit the lamp three times.

The 6-foot-5 Russian winger is up to 10 goals and 23 points on the season, good for fourth among Columbus forwards.

His +5 rating is also second-best on the team.