5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. CANUCKS

FLAMES (48-20-10) vs. CANUCKS (38-29-11)

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Give Them A Good Show'
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'Ready When the Time Comes'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (109)
Goals - Matthew Tkachuk (40)
Canucks:
Points - J.T Miller (93)
Goals - Elias Pettersson (31)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 23.3% (9th) / PK - 83.9% (6th)
Canucks:
PP - 23.4% (8th) / PK - 74.1% (30th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.38% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 55.51% (4th)
Canucks:
Shot Attempts: 49.90% (15th)
High-Danger Chances: 46.93% (24th)

1. LAST TIME OUT

Division champs!
The Flames clinched the Pacific Division crown with a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars Thursday, securing home-ice advantage through at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The night was made sweeter with Matthew Tkachuk scoring his 40th goal of the season and 100th point.
"I was probably more excited about the 40 goals to be completely honest," Tkachuk said on his celebration after. "It was just the time of the game, low score and to get the first one. The coolest part for me was the guys coming in and they were way more excited for me than I was which I didn't think was possible.
"Even after they were so excited for me, you can't put that into words really."
With four games left to go in the regular season (including tonight), it's yet to be determined who the Flames will face in the opening round of the post-season but instead of looking ahead, the focus is on the present.
And the present sees the Canucks pay a visit to the Scotibank Saddledome for the fourth and final meeting of the regular season.
Despite the Flames having clinched, they aren't taking their foot of the gas.
"Keep paying good hockey. Win the last four games of the season and have a good feeling headed into playoffs," Rasmus Andersson said. "That's the mindset. We've got to get prepared, you can't just turn it on and off. We have to have a good mindset these last four games and have the mindset that we have to win them.
"We still have the toughest part left to do and that's ultimately to win the cup. It's going to be tough, going to be challenging, it's going to be fun. We are all excited for playoffs to start but we still have these games left. We have to keep having the mindset that playoffs start now and have a good feeling headed into it."
It's all about momentum.
"You need to feel as confident in your game as possible," Tyler Toffoli said. "You have to realize what you are going into, that there are so many ups and downs. You can't get too high or get too low. You just have to stay as even keel as possible.
"It's about playing the best hockey you can bring and have as much fun as possible because it's the best time."

2. KNOW YOUR ENEMY

Vancouver's playoff hopes are coming down to the wire, sitting four points back of Dallas for the final wildcard spot in the West.
Those post-season hopes took a bit of a blow with a 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild Thursday, just Vancuver's second regulation loss in their last 10 games.
"It's obviously tough. We understand what that (loss) means," Conor Garland told NHL.com after the game. "Tough to be tied against probably one of the top two, three teams in the Western Conference in the third period, and we just couldn't find a way to get it done. It (stinks), but they're a great team. They played real well. We just couldn't find a way to get that fourth one."
With just four games remaining on their regular season sked, the Canucks will have to more than likely win them all and get some help on the out of town scoreboard in order to secure a spot into the post-season.
It's a tall order but after being well out of the playoff race at the start of the new calendar year, they battled back into contention and since March. 3, have made up significant ground to give themselves a fighting chance with a 12-6-5 mark.
Down but not yet out.
"Another day, we aren't eliminated," Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We are going to fight 'til they say we can't fight anymore and that's the attitude of the players. That's the way we're going to go about it tomorrow.
"We've been in this scenario for well over a month. It's nothing new to them. We give it our best every night. I've got no complaints whatsoever with the effort. They never complain, they just keep going on. There's a lot of heart in that room. Tomorrow will be a pretty good effort that we will put forth."

3. FAST FACTS

COURTESY OF FLAMES PR
DO THE MATTHEW: Matthew Tkachuk notched his 100th point this season and his 40th goal when he opened the scoring on Thursday. It is just the 12th time a Flames player has notched 100 points in a season, as Tkachuk joins Johnny Gaudreau at the century mark this season.
Tkachuk and Gaudreau are only the fourth set of teammates to hit 100 points in the same season joining Bob MacMillan and Guy Choiunard in 1978-79, Hakan Loob and Mike Bullard in 1987-88, and Al MacInnis and Theo Fleury in 1990-91.
Tkachuk also becomes the first player to score 40 goals in a season since Jarome Iginla notched 43 in 2010-11 and the first 40 goals and 60 assists player since Kent Nilsson in 1980-81.
GOALS, GOALS, GOALS: Thanks to Andrew Mangiapane's empty net goal Thursday, the Flames are now the first team to feature four 35+ goal scorers in the same season since the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins (Lemieux - 69, Jagr - 62, Nedved - 45, Sandstrom - 35).
This is only the third time in franchise history the Flames have featured four 35+ goal scorers (Nieuwendyk - 51, Loob - 50, Bullard - 48, Mullen - 40 in 1987-88 and Roberts - 41, Fleury - 40, Reichel - 40, Nieuwendyk - 36 in 1993-94).
GAUD THINGS HAPPEN: Johnny Gaudreau notched his 71st assist this season and is now tied for the third most assists in a season in franchise history. Gaudreau needs four more assists this season to tie Al MacInnis for the second most assists in a season at 75.
Gaudreau also looks to join Matthew Tkachuk and Kent Nillson as just the third 40+ goal and 60+ assist player in a season in franchise history if he scores two more goals.
Stick tap to Flames PR guru Dalton Ulrich for compiling these nuggets

4. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Matthew Tkachuck
What will he do for an encore?
Fresh off hitting the milestone numbers of 40 goals and 100 points, Tkachuk heads into the clash with eight points (3G, 5A) in his last four games. He notched three points in the last time out against the Canucks.
And not to mention, he has 33 points in 19 Saturday games this season.

Click here to read more on Tkachuk

Canucks - Elias Pettersson
He's caught fire at the right time with 13 goals in his last 12 games as the Canucks fight for their playoff lives.
With nine points (6G, 3A) in his last five outings, he sits one point away from his career high of 66 and hit the 30-goal mark during Thursday's game for the first time in his young career.

5. QUOTABLE

Head coach Darryl Sutter on the approach for the remaining regular-season games:
"We have three different groups in our locker-room. One is the veteran group. Some of them are proven winners, so they know how to approach it. And then you have the holdover, carryover guys that were here, that have been here in the past - there's probably eight or nine that have played a round. ... And then you have a lot of unproven players that are trying to proof-up. So, it's three different groups and you have to work with each group to push them. You can only do so much as a coach right now. It's up to them to individuals. We've talked lots this year about players doing two things that you can help the team get better at. The team's had a hell of a season when you look at it. There's no way around it. To clinch (a playoff spot) with two weeks left and then to clinch a title with four games left, that's a helluva regular season."