5 Things - Flames vs. Senators

1. Last Time out

‘A wounded animal is a dangerous animal.’

It would seem the idiom has merit.

The Blackhawks were without superstar rookie Connor Bedard and eight of their top 12 forwards, their top blueliner, and were forced to play short-staffed with more money on injured reserve than on the active roster.

But they sure did fight.

“They were hungrier and harder than we were,” said Head Coach Ryan Huska. “They were in a situation that we needed to take advantage of tonight we didn't do what we needed to do tonight.”

With a 4-3 loss on Sunday in the Windy City, the Flames return home with a 2-2 record on the four-game, Stateside swing, and dipped below the .500 mark at 17-18-5 on the year.

“Great start, terrible finish,” groaned Nazem Kadri, summarizing a road trip that saw his team post back-to-back victories in Minnesota and Nashville, before losing twice in a rare matinee set.

Kadri scored twice including one late in the third period, Andrew Mangiapane recorded the other and Dan Vladar stopped 16 of 20 shots.

But second-period strikes from Philipp Kurashev and Nikita Zaitsev 2:40 apart late in the middle stanza put the Flames in a hole they were unable to climb out of. Colin Blackwell added the insurance with his second of the game late in the third, and despite a furious push from the visitors, the Blackhawks held on.

“Not good enough,” said captain Mikael Backlund. If we want to be a playoff team, that's a game we've got to win.

“We played really well to start the trip – two really good games. And then we let our game slip against Philly and Chicago here. Started really well and I don't know... It's tough when we started so well. We had a really good chance to have a really good trip – and with the position we're in, going .500 on a trip – is not good enough.”

Following tonight’s game, the Flames will head right back out on the road for two beginning on Thursday in Arizona and wrapping up on Saturday in Vegas.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Senators are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Oilers on Saturday and have now lost the first three games of their current five-game voyage.

Camrose native Parker Kelly scored Ottawa’s lone goal in Saturday’s contest, while Anton Forsberg was razor-sharp, stopping 43 of the 46 shots he faced.

The Sens are now 3-6-0 since Jacques Martin took over as head coach Dec. 18.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Martin told reporters after the game. “They’re a good hockey club, and I think a couple of breakdowns and their special teams made a difference. I still thought we did a pretty good job on our penalty kill; we missed the one clear for their first goal and then I thought the second goal, we could have played it a little better in the neutral zone.

“But overall, I can’t blame the effort. I think we have to build on this.”

At 14-21-0, the Sens are dead-last in the Eastern Conference and are a full 10 points back of the second-last Sabres in the Atlantic Division, but do have five games in hand.

Sixteen points stand between the Sens and the final wild-card playoff spot entering tonight’s action.

Tim Stützle leads Ottawa in scoring with 34 points (7G, 27A), followed closely by Claude Giroux with 31 (10G, 21A), Drake Batherson with 30 (14G, 16A) and captain Brady Tkachuk with 28 (16G, 12A).

Tkachuk was a one-man wrecking crew in Edmonton, finishing with an assist, three hits and four shots on goal in 21:22 of ice time.

"It's our first year that we've had the expectations (to compete)," Tkachuk told Scott Oake on Hockey Night in Canada's After Hours. "We've had that pressure. We definitely didn't expect to be in the position we're in right now. Coming in, new ownership, a lot of great moves we made coming into the season... We definitely expected it to go the other way. I can't tell you what the single problem is. You're never out of it. The Blues (were) in a position like this and they ended up winning the Cup (in 2019). We've got to find a way to turn it around and I think we have the belief amongst each other that if we do we can go on a serious run."

From here, the Sens will finish off their five-game trip with a stop in Buffalo on Thursday before kicking off a four-game homestand on Saturday against the Sharks.

3. Fast Facts

History for Backlund:

Mikael Backlund is slated to skate in his 949th NHL game tonight against Ottawa which would tie Mark Giordano for the second-most games played in a Flames sweater in franchise history. Backlund was the Flames first round pick in 2007 (24th overall) and skated in his first NHL game at the Scotiabank Saddledome on January 8th, 2009. The Vasteras, SWE native’s 949 games are the ninth-most among skaters from the 2007 NHL draft, and he has gone on to score 193 goals and 319 assists for 512 points over his time in Calgary. Backlund’s 500th NHL point came earlier this year in Seattle, and he became the 11th skater in Flames franchise history to reach 500 NHL points.

Milestones Within Reach:

With his goal on Sunday, Andrew Mangiapane now has 199 career points. Mangiapane is looking to become the 11th active skater drafted in the sixth-round to reach the 200-point plateau. ... With a pair of tallies in Chicago, Nazem Kadri is now only two points away from 600 in his career. When he reaches the milestone, Kadri will become the sixth skater from the 2009 draft class to do it, alongside John Tavares (1,009), Matt Duchene (779), Ryan O’Reilly (737), Victor Headman (691) and Brayden Schenn (605). Kadri’s two goal effort on Sunday was his first multi-goal game of the season and third as a member of the Flames.

Stick tap to Flames PR guru Jordan Bay for compiling these stats. Download the full edition of tonight's Game Notes at the following link:

4. Pelletier Getting Closer

On Monday, the Flames announced that forward Jakob Pelletier has been assigned to the AHL's Calgary Wranglers. Pelletier, 22, has missed all 40 games this year after suffering a shoulder injury that required surgery in the preseason.

Drafted in the first round - 26th overall - in 2019, Pelletier had 37 points (16G, 21A) in 35 regular-season games with the Wranglers last year, before adding another 10 points (4G, 6A) in nine playoff games. He had seven points (3G, 4A) in 24 games with the Flames last season.

Fellow forward Kevin Rooney - who was also forced to have shoulder surgery after an awkward fall in practice - could also be on his way to the Wranglers soon.

It's a great sign for the Flames, who also have Oliver Kylington currently practicing with the farm club.

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Jonathan Huberdeau

With a pair of assists in Chicago, Huberdeau is a point-per-game player in his last five outings (2G, 3A) and in doing so, is looking more like his old self.

White tape, black tape … It doesn’t seem to matter much these days!

Senators - Parker Kelly

The undrafted left-winger has goals in back-to-back games – but even without the third-period payoff, Saturday was arguably his best-ever showing at this level.

Kelly was all over the ice and finished with five shots, tying a career-high that he set on April 19, 2022.

Kelly split his time on his two different lines against the Oilers, but it was the trio featuring Tkachuk and Ridly Greig that firmly tilted the ice in 5:25 together at 5-on-5.

The unit finished with a 71.43% possession rate, along with a dominant 9-3 edge in scoring chances and a 5-0 run on high-danger looks.