5 THINGS - FLAMES @ CANUCKS

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pre-Game Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Lucic - 'Simplify Things'
Projected Lineup
Say What - Pre-Game Quotes
STAT PACK
Head-to-Head Stats
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (15)
Goals - Gaudreau (8)
Canucks:
Points - Quinn Hughes (18)
Goals - Brock Boeser (10)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 21.8% (14th) / PK - 80.9% (15th)
Canucks:
PP - 15.9% (21st) / PK - 82.2% (11th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 50.85% (12th)
High-Danger Chances: 52.94% (11th)
Canucks:
Shot Attempts: 48.32% (22nd)
High-Danger Chances: 45.94% (26th)

1. LAST TIME OUT

It's the age-old question facing players and coaches after a tough outing the previous night:
Shred the game tape or use it to learn from?
"There's both sides to it," explained Dillon Dube, "but playing every other day and against the same team in the next one, there's more of it we have to leave behind."
There you have it.
Onward.
Saturday's outing was not one to remember, with the Flames getting out-shot 46-19 and surrendering the game-winning strike late in the third period, leaving Head Coach Geoff Ward to give a sharp synopsis of what went wrong in his critical, post-game address:
"We weren't competitive."
But the Flames were back at practice on Sunday, parking the previous night's effort and putting their focus back where it belongs - on the next one.
The Flames are 3-1 against the Canucks this year and have another two on tap in the next three days. It's a great opportunity to reverse course and build some much-needed consistency back in their game.
"That's the good part about this league," said Andrew Mangiapane. "You're always playing, you're always right back out there. So, yeah, learn from it, leave in the past, but turn your focus on the next game and what we need to do."

2. THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

HITTING A NEW 'MARK'
In a word: Wow.
What a showing that was.
The otherworldly goaltending of the Flames' No. 1 puck-stopper has been a recurring storyline this year, but even by his own extraordinary standards, this one had a particular sheen to it.
Jacob Markstrom had another impressive night between the pipes on Saturday, turning aside a season-high 43 shots to keep the Flames in it right to the very end.
The thing about Markstrom is that he's the ultimate competitor. Flames Goaltending Coach Jason LaBarbera describes him as a "horse" because his non-stop motor and fiery nature in practice. So, naturally, the talented 'tender was far from satisfied with one of his best outings of the season - suggesting, somehow, he could have done more
"Vancouver's a desperate team and they threw a lot of pucks at the net," he said. "There was lot of volume, but at the end of the day, it's my job to stop the puck and it's frustrating for me to feel like I'm playing a really good game, and then with five minutes left, not to come up with one more save to get us to overtime and at least get us a point."
Since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, Markstrom has a 7-2-0 record in games where he sees 40-plus shots. The 31-year-old has a 7-4-1 record overall this year, along with a .925 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average.
DAY-TO-DAY
Mikael Backlund left Saturday's game late in the first period and did not return with an undisclosed injury. His last shift came with 3:16 left in the frame and lasted only 16 seconds.
"He's day-to-day right now," Ward said. "Felt better today, did some work on it, and we'll see how he is in the morning."
Backlund has been one of Calgary's best players over the past week and would be a big loss if he were out for any length of time.
In 14 games this year, Backlund has three goals and eight points.

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
Timing is everything.
Just like in football, those critical, 15 minutes between the second and third quarters can make all the difference.
Now that you've got a read on what your opponent does well - adjust.
On Saturday, the Canucks made life difficult on the Flames when it comes to the breaking the puck out, making plays through the middle and entering the offensive zone.
It's time for the counter-punch.
"We tried to force too many things and didn't play a simple game," Dube said. "The effort was there - we wanted it - but we needed to play a simpler game with that effort. They played a really smart game and defended us well. But we'll look at it, we'll move on and play some
hard-nosed, defensive hockey (tonight).
So, while the Canucks - to their credit - played the trap well, the Flames didn't give themselves enough of a chance by taking the ice that was available to them, or by generating speed as a five-man unit through the neutral zone.
The good news is, they know precisely how to fix it.
"You can't put yourself on an island," Dube said. "You've got to come with support."

3. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Sam Bennett
Bennett has two goals in his last four games and played a season high 16:56 on Saturday.
The 24-year-old has fit well on a line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, but spent a good portion of Saturday's game centering Milan Lucic and Andrew Mangiapane in Backlund's absence. It will be interesting to see how Ward will deploy the feisty forward if Backlund misses any time.
Canucks - Bo Horvat
Horvat is pointless in his last four, but seemed to have more jump on Saturday with four shots and three individual scoring chances.

4. MILESTONES WITHIN REACH

Matthew Tkachuk - 99 goals (1 away from 100); Chris Tanev - 98 assists (2 away from 100); Sean Monahan - 196 goals (4 away from 200)
Also: Mark Giordano (490 points) is 15 points away from catching Gary Roberts for eighth place on the franchise list of all-time points leaders.

5. QUOTABLE

"It's playoff hockey. It's great. Your energy's there every night. You start to become a little more competitive, a little (grittier) as the games go along. It's the same few? teams every team, so there's a lot of competitiveness out there and guys are going at it. It's fun out there. It's why we play. ... It doesn't change much. There are some strategy changes, but for us, it's about playing our game and the way we can for these four games in a row."
- Dillon Dube on mini-series with the Canucks