5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. CANUCKS
The two Canadian rivals meet for the first time this season
Video: Can't beat a good ol' Flames-Canucks tilt
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PREGAME VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
PRE-GAME FEATURES
Projected Lineup
'He's A Warrior' - Tanev
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (23)
Goals - Nazem Kadri, (11)
Canucks:
Points - Elias Pettersson (34)
Goals - Bo Horvat (20)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 20.2% (25th) / PK - 81.4% (6th)
Canucks:
PP - 27.3% (7th) / PK - 68.2% (30th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 53.99% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 51.38% (13th)
Canucks:
Shot Attempts: 47.14% (25th)
High-Danger Chances: 43.94% (27th)
The Flames had the day off Tuesday after winding up their three-game road trip with a thrilling 2-1 shootout loss to the Habs in Montreal on Monday night.
Calgary iced a lineup without Elias LIndholm (upper-body injury) and MacKenzie Weegar (non-Covid illness) in the tilt, with Connor Mackey drawing in on the blueline.
They also lost Chris Tanev midway through the game in a scary incident after he blocked a shot that went off his head. He left the game and went to a local hospital for tests, but was cleared to travel home with the team.
On the ice, it was the Jacob Markstrom Show, with the Calgary 'tender putting in a stellar performance with 37 saves.
Special teams played a big part in the contest, Calgary going 1-for-5 on the powerplay thanks to Jonathan Huberdeau's tally which had staked them out to a 1-0 lead, then holding the Habs goal-less on seven chances.
Four minutes of the opposition powerplay time came early in OT - 49 ticks in, to be exact - when Tyler Toffoli was tagged with a double minor for high-sticking. Montreal recorded seven shots in the frame, while Calgary had zero.
"We fought hard, it was a tough game," Huberdeau said after. "Killing a four-minute penalty in overtime, that's huge, and guys were blocking shots. Some guys went down, and I think guys stepped up. It (sucks) that we didn't get the win, but at least a point."
Video: Condensed Game: Flames @ Canadiens
The Canucks came into their Saturday-night home tilt with the Wild riding a three-game win streak and looked to notch a season-high fourth straight.
Instead, they were blanked 3-0 by Minny.
"Another opportunity we didn't take advantage of," coach Bruce Boudreau told NHL.com. "I don't know why we came out of the gate slow. We should have been ready to pounce. They played last night and we didn't and we let them come to us."
Spencer Martin made 30 saves for the Canucks and was plenty busy right off the hop when they were outshot 14-4 in the first period.
The Wild ended scoring a goal in each period en route to the victory.
Vancouver captain Bo Horvat played in his 600th game in the tilt.
LAST SEASON AGAINST VANCOUVER: The Flames and Canucks met four times last season, with the Flames going 3-1-0 against their Pacific Division rival. The two clubs' first meeting came in January of this year with the Flames just edging the Canucks 1-0 in overtime, with their next two meetings coming in Vancouver. The Flames fell in their first trip to Vancouver in February, but in the rematch in March, the Flames prevailed 5-2 thanks to a two-point night from Rasmus Andersson and a 23-save effort from Dan Vladar. In their final clash, Dillon Dube scored two goals and Elias Lindholm reached the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career, and the Flames won 6-3.
LOOKING BACKS: With his assist on Jonathan Huberdeau's goal on Monday night in Montreal, Mikael Backlund now sits fourth in regular season and playoff road points in Flames franchise history (215). Backlund surpassed Sean Monahan (who he was tied with at 214 road points in the regular season and playoffs) and prior to Monahan, Backlund passed Joel Otto on December 9th in Columbus at the start of the Flames most recent road trip. The Vasteras, Sweden native is currently riding a four-game assist streak that began back on December 7th against Minnesota.
FIRST TIMERS: Several Flames recorded NHL firsts against the Canucks. Dillon Dube played his first NHL game against the Canucks on October 3rd, 2018. Andrew Mangiapane scored his first NHL goal in Vancouver in February of 2019. Connor Mackey skated in his first NHL game against the Canucks on February 13th, 2021 and recorded his first NHL assist two nights later in Vancouver. He would score his first NHL goal later that same year against the Canucks right here in the Scotiabank Saddledome on May 19, 2021. Adam Ruzicka joined Mackey in making his NHL debut against the Canucks during the 2021 season and skated in his first NHL game on May 18th at Rogers Arena, recording his first NHL point (assist).
Stick tap to Flames Communications Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes.
Follow him and the Flames PR team @FlamesPR on Twitter for more.
Flames - Tyler Toffoli
In 40 career games vs. the Canucks, Toffoli - a former Canuck himself - has posted 21 goals and 35 points. He heads into tonight's divisional match-up with four points in his last five games.
Canucks - Elias Pettersson
Prior to the shutout against Minny, Pettersson - who some pundits are saying is playing the best hockey of his career - had been on a tear with seven points in his previous three outings.
The Flames have played more games against the Canucks than they have against any other franchise in the NHL (295). Second most is 262 games against the Edmonton, and third most is 251 against the LA Kings.
