5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. OILERS
The Flames host the Oilers for the second match-up in this season's Battle of Alberta
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's BOA tilt
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pre-Game Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Bring Out The Best In Me' - Kadri
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Nazem Kadri (9)
Goals - Kadri (4)
Oilers:
Points - Connor McDavid (15)
Goals - McDavid (8)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 30.4% (4th) / PK - 84.6% (7th)
Oilers:
PP - 34.5% (2nd) / PK - 75% (26th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 52.42% (11th)
High-Danger Chances: 51.02% (16th)
Oilers:
Shot Attempts: 53.40% (7th)
High-Danger Chances: 56.06% (6th)
The Flames welcomed in the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday, a club that boasted a 4-1-0 record heading into the contest.
Knowing their opponent was looking to avenge their loss to the Oilers the night before, the Flames came out of the gate flying. They outshot the Penguins 20-6 in the opening frame and closed out the period with a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of tallies from Nazem Kadri.
"You always want to start off strong," Kadri said. "Getting the first goal, I think your percentages go up automatically if you score the first goal. We always try to get off to a good start and establish home ice. We want this to be a hard place to come into and get a win."
The Penguins pushed back in the second period, outshooting the Flames 21-4, but Jacob Markstrom held the fort stopping 20 shots.
Jonathan Huberdeau potted his first goal in a Flames jersey in the middle stanza, a powerplay marker that came three minutes in.
"It feels good, obviously, to get the first one out of the way," Huberdeau said. "I got it up top and I had a really nice screen in front, so I just had to kind of pick that corner and it worked out. I've just got to shoot a little bit more and it's going to go in."
After Evgeni Malkin was able to get a shot past Markstrom on the powerplay, Michael Stone added the Flames fourth goal of the evening just past the mid-way mark of the second period.
"We want to get better," Huberdeau said. "But I think if we play like this a lot of games, we're going to be in a good position. We've got to work on some things, obviously, but overall, that's the start we want. Every game take a lead and after that, if we can play well defensively, and it's going to work out good for us."
Video: "You're always trying to improve"
The Oilers are closing out a three-game road swing that has seen them pick up victories in St. Louis and Chicago.
Edmonton is coming off of a 6-5 win over the Blackhawks Thursdau, a tilt that saw Connor McDavid post a hat-trick and Leon Draisaitl net the game-winner with less than a minute left in regulation.
"It was a little ugly, pretty at some moments. I thought we just found a way tonight. It was a wild one for sure, lots of ups and downs, lots of emotion," McDavid told NHL.com afterwards. "It's good to get a win. Some nights you have your stuff, and that was one of those nights. I felt pretty good all night and made some things happen. It was a big win. A lot of guys stepped up."
Tonight's game will be the second of three Battle of Albertas this season. The Flames took the opening game on Oct. 16 by a score of 4-3. Mikael Backlund, Andrew Mangiapane, Kadri and Stone found the back of the net while Dan Vladar made 26 saves in the victory. Cody Ceci, Ryan McLeod, and McDavid scored for the Oil, and Jack Campbell made seven stops on 11 shots before Stuart Skinner came in, making 31 stops.
QUICK START: The Flames have already earned their fifth win of the season (5-1-0, 10 points) and required the fewest games to hit the benchmark in franchise history. Their previous fastest was seven games achieved seven times, most recently last season.
THE NEW GUYS:Calgary's newcomers this season Jonathan Huberdeau (1G, 4A), Nazem Kadri (4G, 5A) and MacKenzie Weegar (3A) have combined for 17 points through the team's first six games this season.
Video: "These are important points"
HOME SWEET 'DOME:The Flames are set to play their fifth straight home game as this season-long eight-game homestand continues. Thus far, Calgary is 3-1-0 on the homestand and 4-1-0 at home on the season. Calgary will hit the road for the first time on Nov. 7 with a meeting against the Islanders.
Stick tap to Flames Media Relations Specialist Dalton Ulrich for compiling these notes.
Follow him and the Flames PR team @FlamesPR on Twitter for more.
Flames -Mikael Backlund
The Swede has been through many a Battle of Alberta and always comes up big.
Backlund has played 56 games against the Oilers, posting 42 points through that stretch - all while being tasked with shutting down their top line. In the first meeting against the Oilers this year, he opened the scoring just 1:13 into the game and finished the night with six shots, one takeaway, one hit, and a 56% win rate in the face-off circle.
Oilers- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
The 29-year-old is off to a hot start thisseason and currently sits third in team scoring with 11 points in eight skates. He's coming off of a three-point game against the Blackhawks on Thursday, scoring one goal and two assists in the Edmonton win.
Chris Tanev on making the most of practices during a three-day stretch between games:
"You've got to get better. Don't play for three, four days at a time, it's tough so you've got to work - go out there and try to simulate game things and be sharp for Saturday because it's going to be a big game."
