5 Things - Flames vs. Canadiens

1. Do It Again

Wheel turnin’ round and round.

After a third period to remember against Vegas, the Flames will take another spin toward the win column tonight as the Canadiens visit the Scotiabank Saddledome. Get tickets.

The 4-1 victory two nights ago was impressive; the veteran players led the way, while rookies Dustin Wolf and Matt Coronato followed suit with clutch saves and an important insurance marker.

After making 28 saves in arguably his best NHL performance to date, Wolf was back on the ice Friday morning at Winsport, turning away pucks with conviction in a small-group practice.

Coronato meanwhile, put his shooting accuracy on display against the Golden Knights, but when asked what stood out about his play, Head Coach Ryan Huska pointed more toward Coronato’s determination to put himself in good spaces on the ice.

Now, against Montreal, the trick will be to duplicate the performance we saw at the ‘Dome two nights ago.

“For young guys that are trying to find their way, that’s the biggest challenge, I find,” Huska said Friday of his young players’ search for consistency. “Because there’s going to be nights where your opponent is heavier and harder to play against, and you have to find a way to play in those types of games, and there’s going to be other nights where it’s going to be fast and a little bit wide open, so you have to be consistent with how you approach your game and for younger guys, to me that’s the biggest thing.“If you want to be an NHL player, you have to do it every day.”

The Habs present a bit of a different challenge than did the Avalanche and Golden Knights during the front half of this Flames four-game homestand.

Unlike Colorado and Vegas, Montreal is 11 points adrift in the race for a wild-card spot, and only one Eastern Conference club (Columbus) has given up more than the 231 goals surrendered by the Canadiens this season.

Despite their standing, though, Calgary captain Mikael Backlund is mindful of what tonight’s opponent brings to the table.

“They have a lot of young, good players, a lot of skill and speed over there,” Backlund said Friday. “It’s always hard to play teams that have a young lineup and a lot of skill.

“They have nothing to lose, (they) just come out and play, with a lot of excitement and a lot of youth.”

Backlund even intimated that youthful energy could be something his team can emulate, with 16 games left in the regular season.

With a win, the Flames could claw back to within six points of the eighth-place Golden Knights in the wild card chase.

Backlund, who will skate in his 975th career game as a Flame tonight, said he and his teammates need to empty the tank over the final month of the season, all while trying to enjoy the games as they come.

“We’re still eight points out, but there’s still a chance,” he said. “That’s always exciting to be in that chase and do whatever you can to find a way.

“The older you get, you appreciate every game more and more, every season, you can’t take anything for granted.”

2. Know Your Enemy

Tonight’s game marks the start of a five-game, 11-day road trip for Montreal, who arrive in Calgary having dropped nine of their last 12 games including a 2-1 overtime setback at home Thursday night against Boston.

Jake DeBrusk scored the decider 25 seconds into extra time in a game that could have gone either way.

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis was proud of the way his group dug in against the top-tier Bruins, in particular their work in trying to break down the Boston defence.

“I felt once we established our O-zone we were pretty good, I felt we could have gotten a little more out of it,” St. Louis told reporters following the game. “Passes were just a little bit off, they’re in the way, they’re very organized, but I felt in the O-zone we were very organized off their defensive scheme.

“It would have been nice to produce more chances out of it, but the intentions were there, it’s a good game to look at, ‘cause that’s as hard a defensive structure as you’re going to play in this league.”

It’s certainly a youth movement in Montreal, and there’s every reason to feel excited about what’s to come.

Four of the five leading scorers on the Habs roster are under the age of 25, including captain Nick Suzuki, whose 26th goal of the season Thursday night tied a career high.

Juraj Slavkofsky, the first-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, comes into tonight’s game with four points from his last three games - he had an assist in the first meeting between these two sides back in November.

Samuel Montembault has taken the reins as Montreal’s No. 1 netminder following Jake Allen’s departure to the New Jersey Devils.

The 27-year-old’s 13 wins this season are three shy of his career high, which he set during the 2022-23 campaign.

3. Fast Facts

2023-24 Season Series

Calgary has the chance to earn a season series sweep over Montreal after winning the first encounter of the season 2-1 back on Nov. 14.

Connor Zary’s goal 13:07 into the second period came off a set face-off play and broke a 1-1 tie, while at the other end of the ice, Jacob Markstrom stopped 34 of 35 shots to help spur the Flames on to victory.

Zary finished the contest with a goal and an assist, while Nazem Kadri also scored for Calgary.

Did You Know?

A lot’s been made of the Flames’ ability to generate offence in third periods this season, and you can thank the Texas Tiger for a good chunk of it.

Blake Coleman’s two tallies Thursday against Vegas give him 18 third-period goals on the season (64.3% of his total goals, if you’re keeping score at home).

He’s now tied with Edmonton’s Zach Hyman for the most third-period markers in the NHL this season.

4. Getting Closer

Connor Zary, A.J. Greer and Andrei Kuzmenko all skated again Friday at Winsport as they continue their return to play regimens.

Zary’s missed the past six contests with an upper-body ailment, while Greer has been sidelined for 18 games after suffering a fractured foot in January.

Kuzmenko (upper-body) was a late scratch against the Avalanche Tuesday night and also missed Thursday's win over the Golden Knights.

“We'll see,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska said when asked Friday if Zary could make his return against the Habs. “He's progressing well and our hope is that yes but we'll have to see as the day moves on for him.”

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Matt Coronato

Coronato scored his second goal of the season (at the NHL level) Thursday night, to go along with the 15 tallies he’s compiled with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.

He finished the win over the Golden Knights with a +2 rating.

Coronato’s four shots on goal Thursday were also his second-highest single-game total with the Flames this season.

Canadiens - Nick Suzuki

The Montreal captain had his side’s lone tally Thursday in a 2-1 overtime setback against Boston.

Suzuki leads the team with 62 points (26g, 36a) and has been particularly dangerous away from home of late, lighting the lamp four times in his last five contests away from Montreal.

Currently in his second season as Canadiens captain, Suzuki is the third-youngest player in the league to don a ‘C’ for his club, behind Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa) and Quinn Hughes (Vancouver).