5 THINGS - FLAMES @ COYOTES

FLAMES (30-22-9: 69 pts.) vs COYOTES (17-32-10: 44 pts.)

1. US

The Flames opened a pair of back-to-back road games with a 7-3 loss to the Golden Knights Wednesday night in Vegas. The teams traded tallies before the Golden Knights broke the game open with four unanswered goals, including three in the third period. The Flames blueline generated most of the offence with markers from TJ Brodie and Dougie Hamilton, while Matthew Tkachuk added his 23rd goal of the year on the powerplay. David Rittich made 19 saves on 26 shots as seven different Golden Knights found the back of the net. Ryan Carpenter, William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Alex Tuch, Luca Sbisa, Tomas Nosek and Cody Eakin all scored while Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for the Golden Knights.

2. THEM

The Coyotes return to game action for the first time in five days following a 1-0 home win over the Oilers on Saturday. Christian Dvorak scored the game-winning goal on Arizona's first shot of the game, marking the 11th time this season that the Oilers have given up a goal on the first shot. Patrick Maroon appeared to tie the game in the third period, but the goal was called back for goaltender interference after a coach's challenge from the Coyotes. Cam Talbot made 31 saves in the loss while Antti Raanta turned aside 40 shots for his first shutout of the campaign … The Coyotes have now won four straight games and five of their last six.

3. US vs. THEM

This is the second of four regular-season meetings between the two clubs after the Flames took a 3-0 home win on Nov. 30. Mike Smith made 28 saves for the shutout against his former team, while Mark Jankowski had two goals, including the game-winner, and Mikael Backlund added a single.
Jankowski and Sam Bennett (2A) lead all Flames with two points each against the Coyotes this season. The Coyotes skaters, meanwhile, head into Thursday's matchup looking for their first point of the year against the Flames.
The Pacific Division rivals will play another game in Arizona on March 19 before wrapping up the season series at the Scotiabank Saddledome on April 3.

4. THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

This:The Flames have scored at least one powerplay goal in each of their last four games, netting six goals on 14 opportunities (42.9%) over that span ... That: With an assist on Hamilton's goal, Gaudreau reached the 70-point milestone for the second time in his career … the winger is up to 19 goals and 51 assists and sits tied with Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux for second in the NHL points race … The Other: The Flames are 4-1-1 in the second half of back-to-backs when they lose the first game.

5. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames: LW Matthew Tkachuk
The feisty winger enters Thursday's matchup riding a four-game point streak, notching three goals and a pair of assists over that span. All three of those goals and one assist have come on the powerplay. Tkachuk has six goals and three assists in 11 February contests, giving him 23 goals and 44 points in 59 games this season. He leads the Flames with 10 powerplay markers, four of which have come in his last seven games.
Coyotes: C Clayton Keller
Keller enters Thursday's matchup with eight points (3G+5A) in his last eight games. The 19-year-old rookie leads the Coyotes in nearly every offensive category, ranking first on his team in points (44), goals (17) and powerplay points (13) while sitting tied for first in powerplay goals (5), game-winners (3) and overtime markers (2).