5 THINGS - FLAMES @ WILD
The Flames look to sweep home-and-home set with the Wild
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's game vs. the Wild.
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Dig Down and Find a Way' - Coleman
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'The Intensity is Going to Be There'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (65)
Goals - Andrew Mangiapane (27)
Wild:
Points - Kirill Kaprizov (63)
Goals - Kirill Kaprizov (24)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 22.3% (11th) / PK - 84.5% (6th)
Wild:
PP - 20.0% (18th) / PK - 78.7% (19th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.82% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 56.81% (2nd)
Wild:
Shot Attempts: 50.11% (14th)
High-Danger Chances: 50.37% (14th)
One of the most impressive things about the Flames this year is how they've been able to park a result, good or bad.
Win?
Great! Bag the two points and briefly indulge the accomplishment, while keeping a close eye on how they can better in the next one.
Lose?
Big deal. Don't panic - and NEVER look in the rearview.
The regular season is, after all, as much about the voyage as it is the number of victories. It's how great teams evolve into championship ones. And while the Flames have a ways yet before they can enter that conversation, officially, their diligent focus and attention to detail is what's helped them climb the ladder this year.
"We knew had a tough test that night and that we had to raise our level of play," said Erik Gudbranson, reflecting on Saturday's win over the formidable Wild. "That game in Vancouver (a 7-1 loss 48 hours earlier), we all sat down on the plane after that one individually, and everybody - together - understood what went wrong, and that's not what we expect to bring every game.
"We re-focused and put out a good effort."
See?
Never too high and never too low.
The Flames had one of their best first periods of the season, outshooting the Wild 18-4 and scoring a pair of big goals in response to Minnesota's opening tally.
The Wild pushed back over the final two periods, but a pair of goals each from Tyler Toffoli and Matthew Tkachuk, along with singles from Gudbranson, Andrew Mangiapane and Blake Coleman, helped the locals stave off a late push and pick up win over one of the league's top teams.
Now, with the return engagement set for Minnesota's Xcel Energy Center, the Flames know they'll have to elevate their game even further to match the intensity of their owly opponent.
"We want to be known as a team that when we get the lead, we can shut a team down and push them right out of our building," Tkachuk said after the win. "I thought we did that for two periods. ... But we gave that team some life and we don't want to give teams any life in our building, especially in the third period."
Video: Tkachuk, Toffoli net 3 points each in 7-3 victory
A hush fell over the Scotiabank Saddledome late in the third period on Saturday.
On Monday, it was the exact opposite.
Oliver Kylington was back on the ice looking no worse for wear after a scary incident took him out of the game.
"Feel pretty good," Kylington said after Monday's pre-flight practice.
Thank goodness, because that was a NASTY spill.
Kylington collided awkwardly with the end boards after getting tangled up with Minnesota forward Ryan Hartman, losing his balance and pirouetting through the air before slamming back/neck/head-first into the wall.
He was later helped off the ice and did not return, but was "fine" according to Head Coach Darryl Sutter after the game.
Remarkable, really.
"I was trying to check in with myself and see how I was doing," Kylington said of his thought process in the moments after. "Think I was pretty lucky. Could've ended up badly."
Kylington has been one of the great stories of the season, averaging more than 18 minutes per game in a Top 4 role with veteran Chris Tanev. He has a career-high 24 points (6G, 18A) to his name, and has been a key piece of the Flames' elite transition game this year.
Take it away, Dean Evason.
"That's the team that out-gritted us, right? That's the team that out-hit us, that's the team that out-played us, that's the team that embarrassed us. There better be some learning experience," the Minnesota head coach told reporters following Monday's practice.
"It's the first time this year that we did not compete in a hockey game. We got out-competed. That's not who we are. The group knows that. We all know that. We got out-competed in all areas."
Motivation? Maybe.
The Wild - like the Flames - have been remarkably consistent this year, but are now getting their first real taste of adversity after dropping three straight and five of their last six.
"It felt like they were finishing their checks and we were not," Evason said of the Flames. "When we talk about competing, it's not fighting. It's playing hockey. The last time we checked. being physical (and) checking is legal in hockey. They did a lot of legal checking and we did not."
However, they have been a different team at home, stringing together an impressive 16-4-3 record in downtown St. Paul.
With rookie sensation Kaapo Kahkonen tagged with the loss after allowing five goals on 33 shots over the weekend, the Wild will turn to former Flame Cam Talbot between the pipes tonight.
The 34-year-old is 19-11-1 and represented the Wild at the NHL All-Star Game this year, but is on a personal three-game slide where he's allowed 13 goals and has posted a sub-.900 save percentage in each.
"Obviously, it's not easy to get in a groove when you're flip-flopping every day, but right now, (Kahkonen's]) playing really well and I haven't had my best few games," Talbot told MinnesotaWild.com's Dan Myers last week. "I can't fault the coaches for doing what they're doing. I'm going to continue to work on my game, get better in practice and continue to work hard."
LOVE MONTH: In February, the Flames went 10-1 and out-scored their opponents 49-25, averaging 4.45 goals per game and only allowing 2.27 goals per game. Elias Lindholm led the Flames during that stretch with 17 points (9G, 8A), while four others had double digits in points: Matthew Tkachuk - 15 points (6G, 9A), Johnny Gaudreau - 13 points (3G, 10A), Andrew Mangiapane - 12 points (8G, 4A), and Blake Coleman - 10 points (3G, 7A).
AWAY FROM 'DOME: Tonight is the first of only four road tests for the Flames during the month of March. Calgary is 16-10-2 away from the Saddledome this season, and is averaging the seventh-most goals per game at 3.29, along with the seventh-fewest goals per game (2.79) in the NHL. ... Johnny Gaudreau leads the Flames on the road this season with 34 points (12G, 22A), while Andrew Mangiapane has 20 of his 27 goals in the (un)friendly confines - the second-most road goals in the NHL.
Flames - Erik Gudbranson
His goal on Saturday gives him four on the year, tying the career high he set as a member of the Anaheim Ducks in 2019-20.
But forgetting the offence - which, he'll be the first to tell you, is not what he's here to do - the rugged rearguard has given the Flames everything they could ask of a player in his position.
Gudbranson, 30, averages about 18 minutes per game, which includes a heavy assignment on the penalty-kill.
On and off the ice, he's obliterated whatever expectations were placed upon him.
CLICK HERE to read more on Gudbranson's year, courtesy of CalgaryFlames.com's Alex Medina.
Wild - Kirill Kaprizov
Kaprizov had a goal and game-high five shots in Saturday's encounter, extending his team lead in both goals (24) and points (63).
The sublimely skilled sophomore is already set a new career high in both categories, and is on pace to crack the 100-point barrier if he plays in all 82 games.
Not bad for a fifth-round pick!
