5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. GOLDEN KNIGHTS

FLAMES (32-25-15) vs. GOLDEN KNIGHTS (44-21-6)

7 p.m. MT | TV: Sportsnet West | RADIO: Sportsnet 960 The FAN

2022-23 Season Series: 2-0-1

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Excited Where I'm At' - Gilbert
Projected Lineup
Say What: 'Embrace The Challenge'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Tyler Toffoli (62)
Goals - Toffoli (29)
Golden Knights:
Points - Jack Eichel (54)
Goals - Eichel (26)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 20.1% (21st) / PK - 81.6% (11th)
Golden Knights:
PP - 21.2% (16th) / PK - 79.2% (17th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 56.99% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 52.83% (12th)
Golden Knights:
Shot Attempts: 48.47% (23rd)
High-Danger Chances: 52.59% (13th)
Some nights you can tell what kind of game you're in for, based purely on the opening shift.
On Tuesday, 37 seconds was all it took to see the Flames were dialled in and ready to go.
"I feel like we're a good team when we start on time and have a good first period," said Andrew Mangiapane, whose work on the forecheck helped set up a Nick Ritchie goal before the ice was even dry.
"It's not even scoring. It's about breaking out clean, getting shots, chances, finishing your checks. Just being engaged in the game.
"Our first periods, that's when we're good and we need to keep doing it."
That was the template. This is what it needs to look like if the Flames want to lock down a playoff spot down the stretch.
The visitors outshot the Ducks by a commanding margin of 17-7, outscored them 2-0 thanks to Ritchie and Troy Stecher - and most importantly, they set a standard for what the rest of the night required. They showed that vaunted killer instinct and rode that wave all the way to a 5-1 victory at the Honda Center.
Mangiapane, Rasmus Andersson and Elias Lindholm rounded out the scoring for the road team, while Dan Vladar made 19 saves in his first start since Feb. 28.
Tyler Toffoli, meanwhile, had a trey of helpers, giving him nine points (3G, 6A) on a four-game point streak.
"We talked about having two bad starts in a row and we knew we had to be better," said Mikael Backlund, who himself had a multi-point effort, and set a new single-season career high with his 32nd assist. "Scoring right way always helps. It gives some energy to the group.
"We wanted to come out and show that we're better than last night (an 8-2 loss to the LA Kings). It wasn't good enough and it wasn't acceptable.
"We wanted to rebound from that."
Injury update: Chris Tanev (upper body) did not play on Tuesday. An update on his condition/status was not immediately available, but check back after the morning skate for the latest.

Ever since the Flames ran them out of their own building one week ago, the Golden Knights have been on a tear, winning two straight and outscoring the opposition 11-5.
The latest - a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday - now gives the Pacific leaders a league-best 15-3-2 record since the all-star break.
Phil Kessel, Reilly Smith, Teddy Blueger and Pavel Dorofeyev supplied the offence, while Jonathan Quick made 31 saves to record his 375th all-time victory - giving him sole possession of second place on the NHL's all-time wins list among U.S.-born netminders.
"You think about some of the guys that are at the top of that list and being in a category with them, it's an honour," Quick told reporters. "Obviously, you think about all the guys that helped me get a bunch of those wins and the work they put in, and you're just very appreciative of everything."
With the win, Quick improves 5-1-0 since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 2. The lone blemish came courtesy of the Flames, when they shelled him for six goals on 29 shots last week at T-Mobile Arena.
Otherwise, the Knights have won six of their last seven, and currently sit two points up on the LA Kings for top spot in the division.
"Would I call it our best game? No, maybe not," Vegas defenceman Alex Pietrangelo said in Vancouver. "Was it perfect? No. It usually isn't on the road, but we found a way to win it, and that's been kind of the recipe for us. We'd love to play the perfect game, but we're just finding ways to win and having contributions up and down the lineup."

STARTING ON TIME
The Flames have scored a goal within the opening minute of a game six times this season, tied with the Sabres for the most among all teams in 2022-23. ... The Flames are tied for the seventh-most first-period goals (71) and have scored in the first period in seven of their 11 games in March, with nine opening-frame tallies.
HOLY TOFFOLI
Tyler Toffoli is only one goal away from reaching the 30-goal mark for the second time in his career. He would be the eighth different player in franchise history to score 30 goals in a season at age 30 or older, and is looking to join Jarome Iginla (5x; last: 2011-12), Joe Mullen (3x; last: 1989-90), Daymond Langkow (2x; last: 2007-08), Jiri Hudler (2014-15), Theo Fleury (1998-99), Sergei Makarov (1990-91) and Lanny McDonald (1983-84).
DID YOU KNOW?
Every skater on the Flames recorded at least one shot on goal in Tuesday's victory over the Ducks
Mikael Backlund needs one game-winning goal to pass Joe Mullen for sole possession of sixth place on the Flames' all-time list (33).
Stick tap to Flames Public Relations Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes.
Follow him and the Flames PR team @FlamesPR on Twitter for more.
Flames - MacKenzie Weegar
Right, left or somewhere in between, Weegar has thrived in whichever side he's been deployed on this year.
"You guys know how I feel about MacKenzie," Head Coach Darryl Sutter said of the versatile blueliner. "Since the all-star (break), he's been a pretty good player for us."
With the injury to Chris Tanev (and lefty Dennis Gilbert drawing back in on D), Weegar moved back over to the right on a pair with Nikita Zadorov for Tuesday's tilt with the Ducks.
The 29-year-old played 22:51 and was, predictability, a stabilizer on the backend.
"Over the course of the year, his game has gotten better and better," Assistant Coach Ryan Huska said on the road trip. "I think people forget that when somebody changes teams, or locations or cities, there's a lot that goes into it. Everyone wants it to happen overnight where you see a player's best, but there's a lot of things that are involved in him feeling like he belongs here.
"I feel like after the all-star break, he had a total reset. He understands where he's at now and he's been really good for us - at both ends of the ice."

Golden Knights - Alex Pietrangelo
Talk about a heater!
The blueliner has a team-leading eight points (2G, 6A) in his last five games, including six helpers on a three-game point streak. As part of that, on March 19 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, he matched the franchise record for assists (and points) in a single game with four.
Pietrangelo, who played 25:10 the other night in Vancouver, enters tonight's matchup with nine goals and 46 points, and scored the OT winner against the Flames on Feb. 23 in Las Vegas.
Backlund on the playoff push:
"It's an exciting time. It's the best time of year getting, closer to playoffs and fighting for our lives here. Everyone gets a little more jacked up and ready to go. I enjoy it. I think it's a great time of the year."
Mangiapane on the final 10 games:
"Obviously, doesn't really matter what (Winnipeg and Nashville) do - win or lose. We have to worry about ourselves. We don't have many games here, so we have to go on a streak and we've got to pile some wins together. That's all that matters for us.
"Honestly, I think we've been playing playoff hockey for the past 30 games now or whatever situation we've been in. We kind of did this to ourselves and now it's time for us to see what we're really made of, focus on one game at a time and see what we can do with it."