THE SKINNY: FLAMES VS. STARS - GAME 1

GAME 1 - WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND

8 p.m. MT | TV: CBC/Sportsnet | Radio: Sportsnet 960 The FAN

Series Tied 0-0

Video: Brendan Parker sets up Game 1
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'It Gives You the Chills'
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STAT PACK
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LEADING SCORERS (REGULAR SEASON):
Flames:
1. Johnny Gaudreau (40-75-115)
2. Matthew Tkachuk (42-62-104)
3. Elias Lindholm (42-40-82)
Stars:
1. Joe Pavelski (27-54-81)
2. Jason Robertson (41-38-79)
3. Roope Hintz (37-35-72)

SPECIAL TEAMS (REGULAR SEASON):
Powerplay:
Flames - 22.9% (10th)
Stars - 22.4% (11th)
Penalty Kill:
Flames - 83.2% (6th)
Avs - 79.0% (19th)
Shot Attempts:
Flames - 55.59% (3rd)
Stars - 49.01% (3rd)
High-Danger Scoring Chances:
Flames - 55.25% (4th)
Stars - 53.42% (9th)
Motivation comes in many forms.
And it's clear these Flames have something to prove.
In 2019 - after one of the best regular seasons in franchise history - they fell short, falling in the first round. A year later, they came within seconds of a commanding 3-1 series lead - but didn't, and bowed out in six.
Now, with this team, after eight months and 82 games of training for this moment?
There's a different vibe to it all.
The chase for Lord Stanley officially begins tonight, with Game 1 between the Flames and Stars at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
"It's exciting," said Johnny Gaudreau, who will be making his fifth appearance at the spring dance. "A lot of work throughout the whole year to get here and there's a lot of excitement in the locker-room."
"It'll be fun getting ready to go to bed for a game tomorrow - a lot different of a game than the regular season.
"It's hard to get to playoffs. Only done it a few times in my career. To be back here with a good group in the locker-room like we have here is pretty special."
Gaudreau has taken his game to a new level this season. Matthew Tkachuk has matured into an all-world, 100-plus point talent himself. Elias Lindholm is one of the most elite two-way pivots around. Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson have matured into a legitimate (and lethal) top pair on D. Chris Tanev is Chris Tanev. Oliver Kylington, Nikita Zadorov and Erik Gudbranson have exceeded expectations.
Blake Coleman, Trevor Lewis and Milan Lucic have been there and won Cups. They know the drill and will be counted on to lead through the grind of this emotional, months-long sprint.
On and on, on and on.
Most importantly, the Flames have a Vezina candidate in Jacob Markstrom manning the paint and a Jack Adams frontrunner in Darryl Sutter behind the bench that has utilized all the above ingredients to maximize their talents, both as individuals, and as a unit.
These Flames are here to play.
"I've been waiting for it for a while," said Head Coach Darryl Sutter. "It's the game. It's why you play the game. It's a long season. That's the biggest thing. You're not a proven playoff team until you make it several years in a row and then have success. If you look at the history of champions, that's how they get there. We're all excited because we made playoffs. Now, you try to take the next step.
"Try and win a game."
To do that, the Flames will need a big effort from their No.-1 puck-stopper. Goaltending is paramount at this time of year and for the Flames, the 32-year-old Markstrom has been the backbone - the conscience - of the Pacific title-holders all season long.
"It was more of a sour taste that, with last year, you don't know when you're going to get another chance at this," Markstrom said, reflecting on last year's disappointment, and his last playoff experience as a member of the Vancouver Canucks in 2020. "It's not easy to get into the playoffs, so now, it's here, and you've got to make the best of it and put absolutely everything you've got into it with preparation and everything else that comes with it."
Video: "We need all our players to be consistent"
In many ways, they were skating in parallel.
With the Flames' top gunners running roughshod this year, it would easy to look past the league's other dominant trios.
But what's happened in Dallas is no small feat, either.
The Stars' top unit, featuring the ageless Joe Pavelski, centre Roope Hintz and rookie Jason Robertson, accounted for 44% of the team's goals this year, with all three - like Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk - setting career highs across the board.
"They seem to have really good chemistry and they're three really good players," said Lindholm. "They play with a lot of speed and seem to have fun out there, so we need to be aware when they're out there.
"It's always fun to go head-to-head. Our line had some good success in the regular season as well, so if we're out there against them, we've got to make sure we're playing in the o-zone as much as possible because we don't want to be playing too much defence there."
Pavelski, for example, has been around for 16 years now. At age 37, and with 81 points (27G, 54A) on the year, he smashed his previous career high and helped others elevate their game in the process. Robertson, a sophomore winger, was one of only 17 players to eclipse the 40-goal mark and has developed a reputation, league-wide, of being one of the game's preeminent snipers.
So, it begs the question: Will we see a head-to-head, power-on-power matchup as Lindholm suggests, or an old-school chess match?
The Flames will decide first, with home-ice advantage and the last change in Games 1 and 2.
Either way, with both teams controlling the matchups for a portion of the series, you need to be able to roll four lines and take the heat off your top players.
"You don't have the momentum for every shift, so you've got to be able to handle it and deal with it," Sutter said. "You can play all night until somebody scores the last goal. That tells you how important you need everybody in your locker-room.
"It's really not about individuals at all. That's a fact (with) championship teams or teams that win rounds."
When you think of the Stars, you typically think of names such as Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
They'll make their presence felt at some point in the series. Ditto the blueliners, including John Klingberg and fourth-year game-changer Miro Heiskanen.
But, like the Flames, there's more to this group now than there was a year ago.
And it should be a great test for both sides.
Stars Head Coach Rick Bowness has not named a starting goaltender, but it's likely the visitors will turn to 23-year-old Jake Oettinger between the pipes.
Oettinger had a 30-15-1 record, along with a .914 save percentage and a 2.53 goals-against average.
Video: "They are a very consistent team"
COURTESY OF FLAMES PR
SUTTER SUCCESS: Darryl Sutter comes into the night with 170 games coached in the Stanley Cup Playoffs - the seventh-most in NHL postseason history. Sutter has a record of 89-81 in the playoffs and is tied for the eighth-most playoff wins in NHL history (tied w/ Glen Sather).
C OF RED: The Flames have an all-time playoff record of 62-58 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. They have 396 goals for an average of 3.30 per game at the 'Dome, and have allowed 368 for an average of 3.07 against per game.
DID YOU KNOW? Elias Lindholm (42G), Matthew Tkachuk (42G) and Johnny Gaudreau (40G), as well as Dallas forward Jason Robertson (41G) each concluded the 2021-22 season with 40-plus goals. The 2022 First Round matchup between the two clubs will mark only the fourth best-of-seven series in the past 21 years to feature four players with 40 goals in the regular season (NJD vs. PIT: 2001 CF, COL vs. NJD: 2001 SCF & TBL vs. CBJ: 2019 R1).
Stick tap to Flames PR guru Dalton Ulrich for compiling these nuggets
Video: "There's a lot of excitement in the dressing room"
Darryl Sutter on getting the troops ready for Game 1:
"That's pretty much the message. It's not like we snuck in or got in on the last day, so we've been preparing for our opponent, whoever it would be, for quite some time. So, you don't want to overkill it. We've got to play."
On facing the Stars:
"They made the playoffs. If they were in this division, maybe they win this division. They're a really good hockey club. They're a proven team. They have - how many? - they have several players that have went several rounds in the playoffs and that's always, at some point in a series, is something that's a challenge."