'SPECIAL-TYPE PLAYER'

Clearly, after last night's effort, the Flames have another gear they can get to.
So, in a game like this - with the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs waiting on the other side - manufactured emotion has no place.
You have to feel it.
Want it.
Truly believe in the cause you're fighting for.
And if there's any one player you can look to, to lead the way, Nazem Kadri is passion, personified.

"It could be an expensive night, for sure," Kadri laughed when asked about his return to the Big Smoke, and how many tickets he'll be on the hook for. "I always enjoy coming back to this city. Everyone knows how I feel about this place."
"It's a great atmosphere, great building to play in - especially on a Saturday night. That's something I'm very familiar with and can't wait."
Kadri, who spent the first nine years of his career in Toronto, was dealt from the Maple Leafs to the Colorado Avalanche in the summer of 2019. The London, Ont. native said that at the time, the trade felt like "the worst thing ever," but in retrospect, it allowed him to flourish and become the player he always knew could be.
Now returning to Scotiabank Arena as a Stanley Cup champion, he admits he walks a little bit taller both here and around the league.
And now, with his new team, you can bet he wants to put on a show.
"Give him a lot of credit," said Head Coach Darryl Sutter. "It was a busy summer - and not just with the Cup, but getting a contract in place and making those decisions with his family. He had a really good camp and probably those first 10 games, he was really good for us.
"And then - and I've seen this before with players after winning Cups - you kind of hit a wall at some point in there. He had probably 10 games where he was really good and then you could see the fatigue in his game. The last five or six, you can see it come back again."
Indeed, Kadri got off to a torrid start, with four goals and nine points in his first six games, before the numbers - slowly - started to drop off. But prior to last night's loss to the Blue Jackets, he had points in each of his last three games (2G, 3A) and was looking more like the Kadri of old.
It was only a matter of time.
Now, he's back, coating the ice with that rhythmic, reckless abandon.
And most importantly, he continues to pace the team in goals, tied with Elias Lindholm with 10 on the year.

"Naz, that's a special-type player," Sutter explained. "That's a guy that's got the intangibles that separate him. ... You can say he's old school, but there's nothing old school about having a big heart."
High praise.
This is only Kadri's third trip back to The Six as a member of the opposition. In two prior visits, he has a pair of goals. Surely, that's a trend worth remembering.
The Flames will need him tonight, because after a successful homestand that saw the locals win four of their five games, they opened a three-game road trip against Johnny Gaudreau and the Blue Jackets in less-than-impressive fashion.
Sutter did not mince words when asked afterward why his team seemed to lack the cohesion that we've become accustomed to, placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of his blueliners, before shifting focus to the effort of his top forwards for not bringing enough.
That simply won't fly tonight against the league's hottest team.
With a 5-0 win over the LA Kings on Thursday, Mitch Marner extended his personal streak to 21 straight games (10G, 18A), and the Maple Leafs - collectively - have now gathered points in 13 consecutive outings (10-0-3).
That, ultimately, serves as a warning. Play that way again tonight, and the score-line could look a lot less flattering.
"Based on that, they're the best team in the league right now," Sutter said. "The big thing is our top players have to take a step up and I think it's really been missing on the road this year. We've won three games on the road. Early, against Edmonton; in Florida - shootout; and Philadelphia.
"Tells you our best players are not playing up to what we need them to do to get points."