5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. ISLANDERS

FLAMES (18-14-7) VS. ISLANDERS (22-16-2)

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

2022-23 Season Series: 0-0-1

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Easy Guys To Play With'
Projected Lineup
'Very Privileged And Humbled' - Kadri
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (35)
Goals - Tyler Toffoli (15)
Islanders:
Points - Mathew Barzal (41)
Goals - Brock Nelson (15)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 18.9% (26th) / PK - 81.6% (8th)
Islanders:
PP - 18.5% (27th) / PK - 81% (12th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 56.33% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 51.76% (14th)
Islanders:
Shot Attempts: 49.71% (17th)
High-Danger Chances: 48.11% (22nd)
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1. LAST TIME OUT
   It's been the theme of the season: one-goal games.
   The Flames have seen their fair share with a 10-7-7 mark in them, and Tuesday's game in Winnipeg continued the trend as the Flames dropped a 3-2 decision to the Jets.
   "It's right off our start, to be honest," Dillon Dube said. "Winnipeg, I think we were on our heels and kind of chasing it. It was a tight game, outshoot them in the first period but it was just that energy. You have that feeling in the first couple of shifts how the guys are doing. We outshot them but the momentum was back and forth. Especially on the road, you kind of get on your heels.
   "I know it's simple and guys say it so much but start of games are so important to establish your team (play) and push the other team out of the building."
   Every game is huge right now, as the Flames shift the focus to tonight, as they welcome the New York Islanders to the Scotiabank Saddledome for a 7 p.m. puck drop.
   The race for playoff positioning continues to heat up in the Western Conference as the official halfway mark of the season approaches.
   "The biggest mindset for good teams is that those teams don't lose two in a row or three in a row," Nikita Zadorov said. "Its going to be a big rebound game for us. That's the main thing that we'll focus on. We got to fix some stuff in our game, we got to score more goals, play tighter defensively against the top players.
   "At the end of the day the overall team effort should be to try and win hockey games and don't lose two in a row."

2. KNOW YOUR ENEMY
   The Islanders enter the match-up after a 4-2 loss to the Oilers Thursday night in Edmonton.
   Mathew Barzal and Cal Clutterbuck found the back of the net for the visitors, while Ilya Sorokin made 34 stops, as the Isles couldn't recover from a 2-0 deficit after the first 20 minutes.
   The loss was the second in their last three games as they wrap up a four-game road swing tonight at the 'Dome.
   "Obviously not good enough to start the game like that," Noah Dobson told NHL.com. "They lost a couple on the road, they're going to come out hard and we knew that was going to happen and just got to be ready for it. We were turning too many pucks in our own end early in the game, too much time in our end, couldn't get any momentum going.
   "We can't expect to start off slow and spot the other team two, three whatever goals a night to start. It's a tough league play in as it is on the road. When you're playing from behind it makes it even tougher against good teams. We have to learn from that. We obviously have to fix it and get ready for tomorrow (tonight)."
   With the latest loss, the Islanders now hold a slim two-point cushion over the Penguins for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with two more games played.
   ### 3. FAST FACTS
   WHOLE LOT OF BREAD: Andrew Mangiapane is slated to skate in his 300th NHL game tonight against the Islanders. Mangiapane was a Flames sixth round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut on Dec. 31, 2017 at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. The 26-year-old has collected 148 points (85G, 63A) in his career thus far.
   FLASHBACK-LUND: Mikael Backlund skated in his first NHL game against the New York Islanders back on Jan. 8, 2009. Backlund skated in 15 shifts totaling 10:44 of ice time and recorded a shot in the 5-2 Flames win before returning to the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL.

'DOME SWEET 'DOME: The Flames have knocked off the Islanders in three of New York's last four trips to the Scotiabank Saddledome. Last season the Flames won 5-2 in their lone home date with the Islanders thanks to goals from Adam Ruzicka, Chris Tanev, Mangiapane, Erik Gudbranson and Elias Lindholm. Prior to that, the Flames won 4-2 in 2018-19, fell 5-2 in 2017-18 and won 5-2 in 2016-17.
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4. PLAYERS TO WATCH
   Flames - Elias Lindholm
   Lindy is riding a three-game point streak headed into tonight's tilt, and has 12 points (3G, 9A) in his last nine skates.
   After playing in his 700th career game against the Canucks on Dec. 31, Lindholm is closing in on 200 career goals, 300 career assists and 500 career points.
   Islanders - Mathew Barzal
   After a slow start in scoring his first goal of the season, Barzal has caught fire with his goal streak now at five games, marking a career-high, thanks to his latest tally in Edmonton.
   In the Islanders 6-2 win over the Canucks on Jan. 3, the 25-year-old picked up his 100th career goal and has six points in his last five.
   ###

5. ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
   Jacob Markstrom is one win away from tying Trevor Kidd for the sixth-most wins in Flames franchise history. Markstrom passed David Rittich and Roman Turek earlier this season for sole possession of seventh spot on the Flames all-time wins list. Since signing with the Flames in the 2020 off-season, Markstrom is tied for the fourth most wins in the NHL (71) and the second most shutouts (12).