Flames season snapshot fantasy honors

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.

Today, a fantasy recap of the Calgary Flames at the pause:

NOTE: Rank for fantasy most valuable player is based on standard-category production to date.

Fantasy MVP: Matthew Tkachuk, LW/RW (rank: 39) -- Despite mostly playing on a different line than valuable left wing Johnny Gaudreau and center Sean Monahan at even strength again this season, Tkachuk not only leads the Flames with 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists) but is their best category coverage asset. In addition to strong totals in power-play points (19; tied with Elias Lindholm for Flames lead) and shots on goal (188; second behind Gaudreau's 209), Tkachuk's 122 hits rank second on Calgary behind Milan Lucic's 198.

Biggest surprise: Mikael Backlund, C/RW -- He ranks third on the Flames in assists (29), with 22 coming at even strength, where he mostly plays on a line with Tkachuk. He has been especially valuable since Jan. 1, with a Calgary-high 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 28 games, including 22 (10 goals, 12 assists) in the past 16 games.

Unsung hero: Cam Talbot, G -- Although David Rittich (48 games) has had a much heavier workload than Talbot (26), the latter has had better peripherals and a stronger fantasy performance lately. Talbot has a .919 save percentage, compared to Rittich's .907, and is 5-2-0 with a .922 save percentage and two shutouts in his past seven games. Talbot has 22 shutouts since entering the NHL in 2013-14, 12th in the League during that span.

Listen: Video: CGY@SJS: Tkachuk nets incredible between-the-legs PPG