'HE'S A WARRIOR'

The injury bug … bites.
Indeed, the Flames lost more than a slim shootout decision to the Canadiens Monday. Now, they have to press on and hope to snap a three-game slide (0-1-2) without arguably the most important player in their locker-room.
Fortunately, the Flames won't have to be without Chris Tanev for long. The news that Head Coach Darryl Sutter relayed to the media this morning was about as good as anyone could have hoped for.
"He's better," Sutter said. "We'll go day-to-day with him. Thankful there's no fracture with where it him."

It's remarkably, really. Considering how scary of a moment it was when Tanev lay motionless after taking a 90-mph shot to the head, it's clear things could have been much worse for the 32-year-old.
"It's scary," said fellow blueliner MacKenzie Weegar, who missed Monday's tilt with a non-COVID illness but will play tonight. "He's your teammate, but he's also a friend and a good buddy of ours. You think about your health and stuff like that. It's scary and you hate to see that happen, and the first thing you want to do is see if he's OK. Thankfully, he was.
"He's a warrior. I think everybody in Calgary knows he's a tough, tough guy and for him to go down like that is obviously tough to see, but I'm really happy he's OK."

Tanev is a shot-blocking machine, leading the Flames with 55 in 24 games this year. It's a craft - a skill he takes a ton of pride in, and typically escapes unscathed due to his impeccable combination of timing and textbook form.
On this particular occasion, there was nothing he could do. The puck leapt off the blade of Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki and would have travelled well high of Jacob Markstrom and the Flames net. But, standing no more than 15 feet away and dropping to one knee, he took the brunt of the blistering one-timer off the backside of his head.
Tanev needed to be helped off the ice before paying a visit to a local hospital for further testing. Thankfully, he was cleared to travel home with the team, but will need another few days to rest up.
That means the other defencemen will have to step up in the veteran's absence.
We already saw it in Montreal, with the remaining five D playing big minutes and helping the Flames pick up a valuable point. Rasmus Andersson led the way, topping 30 minutes for the first time his career (31:30), while Nikita Zadorov, Noah Hanifin and Michael Stone picked up the rest of the slack.
Fortunately, with Weegar - Tanev's usual partner - back in the fold, the Flames have the depth to mix and match without much trouble.
And he, too, has something to prove from a personal standpoint.
"I think the chances are there," said Weegar, who has six helpers but is still searching for his first goal as a Flame. "I could probably create a few more, but creating chances for the other forwards - the breakout passes or plays down low to the other forwards, they've been there.
"I'm looking, obviously, to find that first goal and once that comes, hopefully a few more can come behind that one."
While offence is only part of the equation when it comes to Weegar's elite, all-around game, you can certainly understand why it's becoming more of a focal point.
'Finishing' has been a hot topic around these parts all season, and the Flames know they need to provide their goaltenders with better run support. Jacob Markstrom, for example, has been splendid in each of his last three starts (rocking a combined .940 save percentage in that span), but has yet to record a win, despite allowing only five goals.
It's time to change that - starting tonight, against a Vancouver Canucks team that's hot on the Flames' tail.
"The chances are there, but I think bearing down and scoring on those chances could be a lot better," Weegar said. "I think we've been talking about that for quite some time. I think we've been talking about a few things for quite a while now.
"I think it's time that we actually do them and stop talking about them, you know?"