5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. CAPITALS
The Flames look for their third straight win tonight against Ovi and the Caps
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (73)
Goals - Andrew Mangiapane (29)
Capitals:
Points - Alex Ovechkin (68)
Goals - Alex Ovechkin (34)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 23.1% (10th) / PK - 84.8% (4th)
Capitals:
PP - 17.9% (25th) / PK - 80.9% (12th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.33% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 55.79% (2nd)
Capitals:
Shot Attempts: 50.66% (14th)
High-Danger Chances: 49.59% (19th)
In a game like that - one played largely in the trenches, and with the chances at a premium - the Flames needed a hero.
A shooter.
A scorer.
Tyler Toffoli has arrived as advertised in Calgary. Of that, there's no debate. But in this, his first-ever taste of the Battle of Alberta, he immediately stepped up and laid claim to what winners crave:
A starring role.
He's now entrenched; woven deep in the fabric of this province's great divide.
And what a way to do it.
The one-shot scorer struck twice, three-and-a-half minutes apart in the second period Monday, as the Flames won the season's third installment of the BOA 3-1, and extended their home point streak to 13 games (12-0-1).
Johnny Gaudreau scored the other and Jacob Markstrom was great when called upon, stopping 27 pucks in the win.
"He's a goal-scorer," Head Coach Darryl Sutter said of Toffoli, with whom he has a long history dating back to their days together in Los Angeles. "You look on both teams, who's the natural goal-scorer?
"There's one guy on both teams that's a NATURAL goal-scorer.
"He only needs one chance to score. So, he had two chances tonight, he scored two goals.
"He's probably, quite honest, pissed off because he had that short-handed breakaway that he tried to come back on (in Colorado). These guys are special players. You can't teach guys to score."
Toffoli now has seven goals (along with three helpers) in 10 games with the Flames, increasing his total to 16 on the year. He had 28 with the Montreal Canadiens last year, and his career high of 31 was set with the Kings during the 2015-16 season.
The goal-scoring might not be 'new,' per se, but it certainly has been a boon to this Flames team that enters the game tonight with an already impressive, third-best +59 goal differential.
"Obviously, I take pride in my scoring opportunities," Toffoli said, reflecting on his missed chance in the Colorado game. "Anytime you get a look like that - a clear-cut breakaway - you want to put it in, especially early on like that."
Tonight is the second of a four-game homestand for the Flames, who will entertain the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, before hosting the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
They enter the night in top spot in the Pacific, four points up on the Kings with three games in hand.
"The confidence in our group, every line can go out there and create momentum and do positive things throughout the game," Toffoli said. "That's what we do. We roll lines, we trust our powerplay, penalty kill, and obviously we trust our goaltenders.
"I think that's a key to success."
The Capitals are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, and are winners of two straight after knocking off the East-leading Carolina Hurricanes 4-0, 48 hours earlier.
Conor Sheary tallied a pair, including the game-winning powerplay strike midway through the second period. Tom Wilson, Dmitry Orlov and Alex Ovechkin rounded out the offence, while Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves.
"There were parts that were good tonight, and parts that I thought we needed to be a little bit better, if I'm being honest," Caps Head Coach Peter Laviolette told Mike Vogel of WashingtonCapitals.com. "They came out really hard. They competed really hard in the first and they work, so you've got to compete at that level.
The win moves the Capitals to 30-18-9 on the season, as they're sitting comfortably - a full 10 points clear - in the second wild-card spot.
Meanwhile, the rase is officially on for the Great 8.
Alex Ovechkin is having one of the best seasons of his career and currently sits fourth in league scoring 34 goals in 55 games.
Ovi is now only 130 goals back of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record of 894 - and only two back of Jaromir Jagr for third place at 766.
The 36-year-old has 1,388 points in 1,252 career spins.
"His game has changed, but he's still the most dangerous player in the league when it comes to areas of the ice and giving him quality shots," said Head Coach Darryl Sutter. "I have a lot of respect for the player.
"Put it this way: He's accomplished everything he's had to in his career. When you look at international, longevity, you look at goals, you look at being a captain, you look at leading a team to a championship. That's the whole package. ... Nothing surprises you about that player anymore, because even in the summer, he signed a five-year deal or something? Well, he signed a five-year deal because he's going to score another 250 goals. Or 200 goals.
"So, you know what his next 'goal' is."
800 CLUB: Mikael Backlund will skate in his 800th career game tonight. The 32-year-old was drafted by the Flames in the first round (24th overall) in the 2007 NHL Draft and has since recorded 162 goals and 261 assists for 423 points in his first 799 games.
Backlund will be become the fifth player in franchise history to play 800 games with the club and is only three games away, after tonight, from catching Al MacInnis (803 games) for the fourth-most appearances in a Calgary sweater.
BACK-TO-BACK: The Flames are in the midst of their 10th back-to-back set of the season, and their third (of four) to be played at home. The Flames are 8-2-0 in the first game and 6-2-1 in the second game, sweeping their last two back-to-backs with wins over Vegas and Toronto on Feb. 9 & 10, and Columbus and Anaheim on Feb. 15 & 16.
Video: Mikael Backlund on setting roots in Calgary
Johnny Gaudreau has 13 points (1G, 12A) in 13 career meetings with the Capitals. Elias Lindholm is coming off a hat-trick in the teams' last meeting, and has points in his last five career games against Washington (7G). ... Gaudreau passed Eric Vail for the sixth-most even strength goals (151) in franchise history with his third-period goal last night against the Oilers. Gaudreau has also tied Hakan Loob's 193 goals for the 10th-most goals overall in Flames history.
We at Calgary Sports and Entertainment are proud to celebrate International Women's Day with a full slate of programming exclusive here on CalgaryFlames.com, Flames TV, and our official social media channels.
And we intend to go BIG.
Video: Celebrating International Women's Day
"It's a big day. And it's an exciting day," said Erik Gudbranson. "It makes the game of hockey so much better to have a day like this, it really does.
"I have a little sister who's a hockey player and she's now retired and onto bigger and better things. But this is a huge day and bringing the hockey community together around a bunch of a great of women and female hockey players, it's only going to make the game better, at the end of the day.
"It's something that everybody in this group is proud to support."
Video: Players on their favourite female athletes
A special thank-you to all the incredible women that make CSEC great, and have dedicated their lives to make change in our community, inspire others, elevate the customer experience and make Calgary the envy of the sporting world.
Tonight, on the Flames TV Live Pre-Game Show, Intermission- and Post-Game Live, Alanna Nolan and Torie Peterson celebrate the accomplishments of some of the amazing females behind the scenes here at CSEC, talk about the future of women in sport, the PWHPA, and break down the game between the Flames and Capitals.
All that and more beginning at 6:45 p.m. MT, at each intermission, and following the game right here on CalgaryFlames.com.
