5 Things - Flames vs. Senators

1. Defending The Fortress

It should come as no surprise the Flames' two goaltenders were front and centre with the media Wednesday morning, as Calgary prepares for its penultimate pre-holiday contest against Ottawa at the Scotiabank Saddledome. GET TICKETS

After all, the play of Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar has been a big factor in the Flames' 15-11-6 record to date - in particular their play at the friendly confines of the 'Dome.

The duo has combined for a quartet of clean sheets - the most by any NHL club on its home playing surface so far this season.

That's a stat the C of Red can get behind.

With one of the better home records in the Western Conference, the fans have had plenty of opportunity too, to show their support and appreciation for the local club.

And those cheers, that vigour, has not gone unnoticed.

"Every time you get to play at home, it’s awesome," Wolf said Wednesday. "It’s a great building to play in, there’s an atmosphere, and obviously our fans are terrific, and very supportive.

"I feel very, very comfortable playing here at home."

Three seasons ago, Calgary won 25 times at the 'Dome, making it one of the most difficult buildings in the league for opposing teams to try and claim points.

This season, the Flames are on pace for similar numbers, with 11 victories from their first 17 contests at the venerable old barn.

There are just two more opportunities to add to that total before the NHL goes on holidays early next week: tonight, against a surging Senators squad, and Saturday afternoon against one of the game's brightest young stars in Connor Bedard.

If this Calgary crew wants to continue proving the pundits wrong, for Wolf, there's no place like home to do it.

"These are the games you want to take advantage of, when we’re at home," he said. We should have the advantage in that regard.

"If we can keep the good things rolling at home, I think we’re setting ourselves up for success down the road."

2. Know Your Enemy

The Sens are on a roll of late, and with seven wins from their last 10 games, Ottawa has climbed into a wild card berth in a busy Eastern Conference.

Just six of their 16 wins have come away from home, but four of those half-dozen victories have come via the shutout, the most recent of which coming in the form of a 3-0 clean sheet two nights ago in Seattle.

Linus Ullmark turned away all 30 shots he faced, while Shane Pinto, Noah Gregor and Tim Stutzle provided the punch at the other end of the rink.

“Real good road win tonight, start to finish,” Ottawa coach Travis Green told reporters following the contest. “I know they had 15 shots in the first, but I thought after the first 10 minutes, we really played a good 200-foot game.”

Ullmark has been nigh on unbeatable of late, surrendering just five goals over a six-start winning streak.

But overall, the Sens have grown comfortable under first-year bench boss Green, all in a bid to bring post-season hockey back to Ottawa for the first time since the club came within a win of reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2017.

“The guys are buying in,” Green said Tuesday. “They understand our system now after 20-plus games.

"There’s also a commitment from everyone to buy into it.”

3. Fast Facts

2024-25 Season Series

The season series between the Flames and Senators concludes tonight, with Calgary in search of a win, and a split.

Brady Tkachuk's early third-period powerplay goal stood up as the game winner in the first meeting Nov. 25 at Canadian Tire Centre, as Ottawa scored a 4-3 victory on home ice.

Jonathan Huberdeau, Yegor Sharangovich and Nazem Kadri had the Flames goals.

Calgary has won each of their last two home fixtures versus the Senators, by 5-1 and 6-3 scorelines.

Did You Know?

Matt Coronato and Nazem Kadri's second-period tallies against Boston Tuesday night came 27 seconds apart, marking the two quickest goals scored by Flames skaters so far this season.

In fact, they're the two fastest goals scored by Calgary since Feb. 22, 2023, when Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr each lit the lamp over a 24-second span at Arizona.

Stick tap to Flames PR guru - and outdoor rink enthusiast - Jordan Bay for this stat.

4. C-ing Red

They're just iconic.

And the Flames have a fair bit of swagger in those classic red home uniforms this season.

In fact, Calgary has failed to collect a point only twice in 2024-25 when sporting their primary red kit, boasting an 8-2-2 record in that set of silks along the way.

(Yes, the plan is for the Flames to wear red tonight, and again when they wrap up the pre-holiday portion of their schedule Saturday afternoon against the Blackhawks).

The red uniforms are one of two of Calgary's three sets with which the team has a plus-.500 record this season.

The Flames are 4-2-0 when wearing their black Blasty alternates, too.

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Nazem Kadri

Kadri has goals in four consecutive games, matching a career best. He's got points in eight of his last nine outings, too.

He reclaimed the Flames' goal-scoring lead Tuesday night, too, with his 12th goal of the campaign in that 4-3 OT setback to the Boston Bruins.

Over the course of his career, Kadri has lit the lamp 15 times against the Senators, including a pair of game-winners.

Senators - Drake Batherson

Ottawa loves the Drake.

Batherson leads the Senators in scoring with nine points in the month of December, and comes into tonight's contest with a cool half-dozen points from his last five outings.

He scored a hat-trick Dec. 11 against the Ducks, and with 13 goals to this point in the season, Batherson is on pace to surpass his career-best 28-tally campaign from last season.