5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. CANUCKS
The Flames battle the Canucks on Hockey Day in Canada
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's tilt with Canucks
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Tough to Get Off the Puck'
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'It'll Be a Good Test'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2020-21 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (51)
Goals - Matthew Tkachuk (20)
Canucks:
Points - J.T. Miller (44)
Goals - Miller (15)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 22.6% (11th) / PK - 83.3% (5th)
Canucks:
PP - 20.1% (15th) / PK - 68.6% (32nd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 54.76% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 56.19% (3rd)
Canucks:
Shot Attempts: 50.21% (16th)
High-Danger Chances: 48.54% (21st)
The Flames fell 5-1 to the Blues Thursday in St. Louis, ending a two-game stretch that saw them pile 110 shots on the opposition nets while scoring 13 goals.
The wild run started on Monday when they dumped the Blues 7-1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome and continued 48 hours after in Columbus, when they had a franchise-high 62 shots en route to a 6-0 blanking of the Blue Jackets.
Prior to the loss Thursday, they had scored an impressive 21 goals in their previous four outings (5-3 loss to the Oilers and 5-1 win over the Panthers).
But on Thursday, they struggled to find the twine, generating more scoring chances than the Blues but missing attempts, hitting posts and also being stymied by St. Louis goalie Ville Husso.
"I think there was little bit of fatigue in the game tonight, similar to the game we just played them in Calgary," said head coach Darryl Sutter after the tilt. "I think that was the question that ... The big thing that night was the 'Johnny and Matthew Show' and rightfully so. But we had chances on the powerplay - didn't score, missed the net, made individual mistakes from veteran players and cost us goals. ... Give up three goals going into the third, quite honest, you're not going to win hockey games. Very simple."
Both Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk - who had been piling up the points - saw their respective six-game scoring streaks end.
"We're looked upon to put the puck in the net," said Gaudreau Friday. "Try to score goals and help our team win games and obviously we want to do that without being a liability in the D-zone. Last night, we just had a couple looks and couldn't find the net and that's the way it goes sometimes. You're not going to score every single night. If we can put that behind us and get ready to have a big game tomorrow and try to help our team win this game, that would be really important."
The past is the past, though, and the Flames are looking ahead to starting a new win streak and set the tone on home ice, where they will be busy in the coming months down the stretch.
"I think we've gotten better, obviously," said Gaudreau of playing at the Scotiabank Saddledome. "The start of the season we weren't great. I think we were playing a lot different on the road - more simple not trying to do too much. As we had success on the road, maybe we tried to get a little too cute or fancy when we came back home, and sometimes you feel more comfortable at home and it didn't translate. But I think we started to learn that a little bit the last few weeks here and have strung along some good games here. Just have to get back to being a little more simple and not trying to do too much."
The Canucks are coming off an impressive 5-1 victory over the Jets Thursday in Winnipeg.
J.T. Miller scored a hat-trick and finished with four points, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson added singles, while Spencer Martin recorded his first NHL victory with 33 stops.
"The puck just kind of followed me around today and I got lucky a couple went in," Miller told NHL.com correspondent Darrin Bauming.
Miller had praise for his side, which is 4-4-2 in their last 10 games and still battling to get their season back on track after a tough start.
"We have a lot of guys that step up and our best players are different players on a nightly basis, which is a great thing to have," Miller said. "But at the same time, we need to take it game by game and play like we did a little bit today."
Martin has been stellar for the Canucks since being recalled from Abbotsford, sporting a 1.59 GAA and a sparkling .958 save percentage while going 1-0-2.
"I think that's three outstanding games (Martin) has played for us in a row," Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I can't be happier. He kept us in there and he got points in every game for us. I think it's the makings of a really good goalie."
FAMILIAR FOES: The Flames and Canucks played 10 times last season with the Flames outscoring the Canucks 35-26 over those games. Jacob Markstrom played nine of the tilts going 7-2-0 with a .925 SV% in the season series. Johnny Gaudreau led the way for the Flames with 13 points (3G, 10A) in the 10 meetings, while Elias LIndholm notched four goals and five assist for nine points.
BACK AT 'DOME:The Flames are back at the Scotiabank Saddledome for one game before hitting the road for another back-to-back before the All-Star break. Calgary has won their last two at home and have outscored their opponents 12-2 over those games. The Flames will then play seven straight at home from Feb. 7 to Feb. 21, followed by 12 home games in the month of March.
DID YOU KNOW?: Sean Monahan (211) needs just two goals to catch Al MacInnis (213) for the seventh-most goals in Flames franchise history.
Flames - Mikael Backlund
The Flames forward - one of the best two-way centres in the league - scored the lone goal Thursday and recorded a team high - and personal season high - seven shots. He also hit a post in the third which likely gave him a few nightmares.
On the other side of the puck, he also put on an absolute penalty-kill clinic and showed off his incredible checking and defensive prowess. Click here to read more on that
Canucks - Elias Pettersson
It wasn't the start to this season Pettersson envisioned. He has just 11 goals and 24 points so far this campaign and, as of Friday morning, was sitting 148th in NHL scoring. However, he's been heating up of late with goals in two straight games and five tallies in his last six outings.
Dillon Dube on facing Canucks:
"It's all that's on our mind (being in a playoff spot at the All-Star break). Now, we just look at (the) game and how much that means against a divisional team in Vancouver and hopefully getting those two points against them."
