5 Things - Flames vs. Stars

1. Be Like Mike

It's Mike Vernon Night presented by Mike's Hard Lemonade this evening at the Scotiabank Saddledome, as the Flames look to stack the pads against an in-form Dallas Stars squad. Get tickets

Calgary will receive a blueline boost in the form of Rasmus Andersson, who is eligible to return to the lineup after missing the last four games.

It’s no secret the past week and a half has been a trying one for the Flames, but if you ask Andersson, the secret to turning the page is in self-belief.

“We know as a team, we know as individuals, we need to be better. We’ve just got to get the swagger, and confidence to make plays back, then we’ll take it from there,” he said.

As excited as Andersson is to return to the Calgary lineup, his teammates are perhaps more stoked to see just how his presence can help turn the Flames’ fortunes in a more positive direction.

“He’s a big piece of our team,” forward Blake Coleman said Tuesday. “Obviously, goals are coming at a premium right now and Ras is a big influence in that department, especially at 5-on-5 and on the powerplay.

“We’re excited to get him back, he’ll provide a bit of life to this room, with some energy, but most importantly that offensive upside, which we’ve been hurting for the last few games, he should be a nice spark for that.”

At times this season, Calgary has had that swagger, as well as an ability to control the game through puck possession and pressure.

But puck responsibility was top of mind for Head Coach Ryan Huska as he teed up tonight’s game with reporters Tuesday morning.

“For me, it’s the taking care of the puck through the neutral zone,” Huska said. “That’s been kind of the Achilles heel from day one, and it’s something that we have to continue to work on, but we’ll get there.”

The Flames gave 2020 first-round pick Connor Zary a look on a line with Nazem Kadri and Yegor Sharangovich at practice yesterday; Zary was recalled from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers prior to the on-ice session.

It remains to be seen whether the 22-year-old will skate in his first NHL game tonight, but his presence and energy gives Huska another option on the wing, should he look to change his lineup from Sunday’s contest at Commonwealth Stadium.

Tonight marks the start of a busy month of November for Calgary; in all, the Flames will play 14 games over the next 30 days including three against these Dallas Stars.

No question the 20 players who hit the ice this evening will be looking to start the new month by turning over a new leaf.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Stars begin a Western Canadian tour tonight boasting a 5-1-1 record through their first seven games, with their most recent outing coming in the form of a 5-3 home win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday.

Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston and Evgenii Dadonov each factored in with a goal and an assist against the Blue Jackets, while Jake Oettinger turned aside 19 shots, improving his record to 4-0-1.

Defensively, the Stars have been stingy, surrendering the second-fewest goals in the league (17) through their first seven games.

Head coach Peter DeBoer instead preferred to discuss his balanced attack, ahead of jetting North to Alberta Tuesday morning.

“I thought the deepest team won (the Stanley Cup) last year, and I think we’re trying to be one of those deep, deep teams this year,” DeBoer said. “I saw signs of it last game, I thought our fourth line looked effective, looked dangerous for the first time in a while.

“Hopefully we can keep building on that four-line mentality.”

It’s a unique circumstance for Dallas, to play the next two games against Alberta foes whose last outing was at the Heritage Classic.

DeBoer made mention of the fact Sunday's outdoor setting made video analysis of his next two opponents difficult.

“It’s really hard for us to use any of the tape from that for pre-scouts,” he said. “We watched the game, you can look at systems and tendencies but you can’t really use the tape.”

Nevertheless, the Stars visit Alberta knowing both tonight’s opponent in Calgary, and Thursday’s opponent in Edmonton offer a commonality, in that both host teams are hoping to use the Stars as a springboard to get back on track to begin November.

“(It’s) always a tough trip, two good teams, two tough buildings to win in and I think, when you look at the standings, two desperate teams early in the season,” DeBoer said.

“There’s no easy games on these trips, this time of year, and particularly on this one.”

3. Fast Facts

2022-23 Season Series:

Calgary earned five of a possible six points against Dallas last season, outscoring the Stars 16-15 in a wild three-game set.

The Flames took the opener at American Airlines Center Jan. 14, with Chris Tanev’s goal proving to be the decider in a 6-5 Calgary win.

Tyler Toffoli scored the winner at 19:53 of the third period Mar. 6 at Dallas in a 5-4 Flames triumph, before the Stars completed the season set with a 6-5 overtime win at the ‘Dome.

The blueline came up big for Calgary in last year’s season series. MacKenzie Weegar finished the three-game set with a goal and six assists, while Rasmus Andersson chipped in with three goals and three helpers.

Did You Know?

Jacob Markstrom became just the fourth goaltender in NHL history to earn a point in an outdoor game Sunday when he tallied an assist on A.J. Greer’s second period goal.

Markstrom joins Frederik Andersen (CAR - 2023), Petr Mrazek (DET - 2016) and Marc-André Fleury (PIT - 2011) as goaltenders to earn points in NHL outdoor contests.

4. Roster Notes

The Flames practiced Tuesday morning with these line combinations:

Forwards

Jonathan Huberdeau - Elias Lindholm - Andrew Mangiapane
Dryden Hunt - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman
Yegor Sharangovich - Nazem Kadri - Connor Zary
A.J. Greer - Matt Coronato - Walker Duehr

Defence

MacKenzie Weegar - Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin - Chris Tanev
Dennis Gilbert - Jordan Oesterle

Goaltenders

Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar

Maintenance Days

Dillon Dube
Nikita Zadorov

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Rasmus Andersson

It’s easy to point to Andersson as a player to watch tonight, but the returning Flames defenceman brings a multi-faceted game back to the Calgary blue line.

At one end, he’s sure to draw top assignments in the defensive zone while at the other, his heavy shot can add a different look to a Flames powerplay that capitalized twice in the Heritage Classic.

Andersson has earned over 24 minutes of ice time in three of his last four games.

Stars - Roope Hintz

He scored once and added an assist Monday in Dallas’ victory over Columbus and in doing so, Hintz surpassed 250 career NHL points, all of which have come with the Stars.

The 26-year-old is off to another solid start to begin 2023-24, averaging a point per game over his six appearances for Dallas.

He’s also put up back-to-back 37-goal campaigns and in both 2021-22 and 2022-23, he scored 25 even-strength goals for the Stars.