5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. OILERS

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pre-Game Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'The Boys Are Ready'
Projected Lineup
Say What - Pre-Game Quotes
STAT PACK
Head-to-Head Stats
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (16)
Goals - Gaudreau (9)
Oilers:
Points - Connor McDavid (32)
Goals - Leon Draisaitl (10)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 21.3% (16th) / PK - 79.6% (18th)
Oilers:
PP - 24.6% (12th) / PK - 75.0% (23rd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 51.42% (12th)
High-Danger Chances: 52.65% (9th)
Oilers:
Shot Attempts: 47.63% (27th)
High-Danger Chances: 51.68% (12th)

1. US

The Battle of Alberta may be just what the doctor ordered.
The Flames are fresh off wrapping up a four-game set against the Vancouver Canucks, finishing the mini-series with an even 2-2 mark.
Despite winning four of their last six tilts, Wednesday's 5-1 setback finds the club looking to reignite the same high energy they had when the Oilers visited the Scotiabank Saddledome back on Feb. 6. The first clash between the bitter rivals saw the boys from the Stampede City roll to a 6-4 victory.
Since then however, the team has struggled to find 'consistency' in their game a topic oft discussed among the players and head coach Geoff Ward.
"It's not like this is the first time that it's happened," Matthew Tkachuk said. "It seems like it's been a little bit of a common theme the past couple years, but we've been able to get out of it with some stretches. We need a stretch of good hockey, we have to play for one another and really set up the next line or the next defensive pairing and just try to come out of this stretch being the hardest team to play in this division."
Funny how things seem to line up, as the Flames were faced with the same opportunity to turn things around against Edmonton the first time around as they entered that matchup on a two-game losing streak.
The circumstances headed in are different this time but the stakes remain as high as ever, with the Flames only three points behind Edmonton in the ever so tight North Division with two games in hand - making this weekend set that much more critical for the Flames to find their game.
"The identity of this team, when we're at our best is when we're a checking team that can score - when we're playing in the hard areas, using our depth, grinding teams down low and getting in on the forecheck and stuff like that," Milan Lucic said. "That's the identity of the team - I believe that's the identity of the team. We've just got to see it more on a consistent level."

2. THEM

Winners of four of their last five games since that first meeting with the Flames, the OIlers are coming off a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets Wednesday evening at Rogers Place.
With a 10-8 mark on the year, the Oilers have outscored their opponents 17-11 during the current five-game span. It's been quite the turnaround after a 3-6 start to the season where they found themselves outscored 33-26.
It's no secret who drives their offence, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way with 32 and 28 points respectively - currently first and second in league scoring. But as of late, the Oilers have gotten more depth scoring from their offence and even on the blueline with Tyson Barrie (14 points) and Darnell Nurse (13 points) chipping in.
"There are parts of our game that have improved," Oilers head coach Dave Tippet said. "There are some parts to it that have gotten better because we've started to realize where all the pieces fit. With the two goaltenders in there that can play we've gotten a good balance. There are some things in our team that have moved along and I think a lot of teams can say the same thing but I have liked the way we have progressed here in the last two or three weeks."

3. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Andrew Mangiapane
The forward has been heating up with three goals in the last five games, including a dazzling tally last outing against the Canucks. With eight points so far this season (5G, 3A), Mangiapane has seen his persistent and strong forechecking play start to pay off on the score sheet, being noticeable every single outing thus far. In the first clash against the Oilers, he picked up two points to improve his career totals against the rivals to eight points in as many games.
"He leaves everything out on the ice every night," head coach Geoff Ward said. "He gives himself an opportunity based off of his awareness and his work ethic allows his skill to come out. He's gotten very comfortable playing without the puck and because of that, he has gotten the puck on his stick a lot more. He really takes pride in becoming a complete player."
Oilers - Ryan Nugent- Hopkins
With four points in the two-game set against the Jets, the former No.-1 overall pick has improved his point total to 15 on the year (7G,8A) to sit third in team-scoring. The 27-year-old also sits third on the roster for powerplay points with nine, tallying four. In 38 career games against the Flames, Nugent-Hopkins has racked up 28 points.

4. A NEW FACE

Wednesday's tilt with the Canucks saw forward Brett Ritchie make his Flames debut after he was recalled from the club's taxi squad.
The towering 6-foot-4, 220-pounder finished the contest with one shot on goal - a breakaway opportunity early in the first period - three hits and 10:54 minutes of ice time. He started on the fourth line before moving up to play alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.
The 27-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Flames on Jan.17 after spending last year with the Boston Bruins, finishing with six points in 27 contests. His best season statistically came in the 2016-17 season as a member of the Dallas Stars with 24 points, highlighted by 16 goals.
"Obviously, it's been a while and you never know exactly how that's going to feel," he said after the game. "But I had a game plan and wanted to keep it simple early. I had an opportunity to play with (Gaudreau and Monahan) and I've played with some skilled guys before, so you want to get the puck to those guys, head to the net and cause some chaos. Sometimes, you can get a bounce. We had some looks, along with some other lines tonight. Could have changed the tide a little bit, but we just couldn't bury them. It was one of those nights."

5. QUOTABLE

"We're going to get up for this game, it's going to be impossible not to. This is a huge moment in our season for us and we have to show to one another that we're going to be ready from the drop of the puck and if we do that, then we're going to be happy with the result. One of the staples of our game is being hard against other teams' top guys, being physical. I think we got away from that against the Canucks, we let their guys off the hook. With Edmonton, we know who the engines are on their team, and we know we have to play hard against them and if we do, we'll come out with the result in these 72 hours. These next two games will show us a lot, tell us a lot about what we have and where we're trending."
- Matthew Tkachuk on the importance of the next two games against the Oilers