5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. OILERS
The archrivals meet in their fourth and final regular-season tilt
Video: Flames. Oilers. Let's do this
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'You Can Feel The Buzz In The City' - Lucic
COMING SOON: Projected Lineup
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (85)
Goals - Elias Lindholm (32)
Oilers:
Points - Connor McDavid (95)
Goals - Leon Draisaitl (44)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 24.4% (8th) / PK - 85.6% (3rd)
Oilers:
PP - 25.4% (4th) / PK - 76.1% (21st)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.61% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 56.54% (1st)
Oilers:
Shot Attempts: 52.87% (8th)
High-Danger Chances: 51.20% (12th)
The Flames bounced back from a Tuesday night loss to the Sharks by dumping the visiting Coyotes 4-2 Friday.
Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, Johnny Gaudreau and Rasmus Andersson tallied for Calgary, while Jacob Markstrom finished the night with 16 stops.
The Flames became the first team in the NHL this season to have four 30-goal scorers following Gaudreau and Tkachuk's tallies, as they joined Lindholm (32) and Andrew Mangiapane (30) in rarified air.
This is Calgary's 13th back-to-back scenario this season. They are now 10-2-1 in the first game and have a 7-4-1 record in the second game. This is also the fourth time this season the Flames will play both of the back-to-back's at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary will entertain three more back-to-back scenarios this season following this set.
These two provincial foes last met on March 7, the Flames skating to a 3-1 victory thanks to a pair of tallies from Tyler Toffoli and 27 saves from Markstrom.
Devin Shore had the lone marker for the Oilers, while Mikko Koskinen made 26 stops.
The Flames did a stellar job of containing Edmonton's big two of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, holding the pair pointless.
"It was just a really important game for us," said Toffoli after the tilt. "And I thought we did a good job of containing their top guys and, obviously, 'Marky' made some big saves at the right time. I thought we just did a really good job overall in not really letting them get to their game as much as they probably wanted to."
Video: Toffoli scores twice to lift Flames past Oilers
The Oilers have been on quite a heater.
They have won 18 of their last 29 games in regulation and heading into last night's slate of tilts, had piled up the second most points in the league (39) since Jan. 22.
Who was tops? The Flames with 42 points, having won 20 in regulation.
The Oilers had played a few more games than some of the teams just behind them in points and one more than the Flames, but you get the gist. Their .672 winning percentage is, nonetheless, pretty impressive.
Edmonton is coming off a 5-2 win over the visiting Sharks Thursday night, getting back in the win column after falling in their previous two outings. Kailer Yamamoto and Draisaitl scored in the second period as the Oilers led 2-1 after 40 minutes. Newcomer Derick Brassard tallied in the third before Draisaitl scored again and Evander Kane got an empty-netter.
Mike Smith made 28 saves for the Oilers, while captain Connor McDavid collected a pair of helpers.
"I thought there were a lot of really good parts to our game tonight, we got a lot of contributions up and down our forward line and (Video: Brendan Parker sets up the Battle of Alberta
Flames - Johnny Gaudreau
Gaudreau is, as the kids say, playing with cheat codes right now. The flashy forward is simply dominating on offence, picking up three points Friday night - including scoring his 200th career goal - and remains fourth in league points behind McDavid (95), Draisaitl (90) and Florida winger Jonathan Huberdeau (88).
Video: ARI@CGY: Gaudreau nets 200th NHL goal on breakaway
Oilers - Kailer Yamamoto
The young Oilers forward has been on a tear, scoring seven goals in his last eight games. He has tallied in three straight, and has collected 12 points during that span. Skating on a line with McDavid and Kane, Yamamoto's offensive game has come to life at the perfect time as Edmonton has benefited from strong secondary scoring during their current run.
Assistant Coach Ryan Huska when asked about Gaudreau's season:
"You see an elite player this year, a guy that change the game on his own. For sure I saw it in spurts my first year, he was really good that year, too. And then there was spurts when you would see in the last couple of years when you knew how he could take a game over and he could be a difference maker. This year, it's been consistent - and that's the cool thing to see."
