5 Things - Flames @ Canucks

1. Turn The Page

Life moves fast. 

The Flames found that much out Thursday in their home-opening setback to the Kraken. But Friday, the club was focused on the future, one that consists of a busy, West Coast weekend that will see Calgary play back-to-back affairs tonight in Vancouver and tomorrow in Seattle. 

The team held a full skate Friday morning at the Scotiabank Saddledome before jetting west to B.C. Just before departure, Joel Farabee pointed at those little moments - Seattle had two spells in Thursday's game in which they scored twice inside a minute - as an area his group can improve upon.

"I think with our team, we can't have five, 10-minute mental lapses because teams are too good in this league," said the forward, who will skate in his 499th career NHL contest tonight. "It sucks, we disappointed our fans and everything like that, but just turn the page. We’ve got a tough back-to-back here, so try and just focus on that. 

"It's the first game, so we have to be cognizant of it, but at the end of the day, we just got to keep playing aggressive. I think where we get in trouble is when we're on our heels and trying to defend, instead of just putting pressure on guys and things like that." 

"We put together three to four categories that we wanted to make sure we improved on," Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska added Friday. "We addressed it with the players, and now we move on.

"And I think that's the best way to approach it after you have a night like we had (Thursday), is you deal with it, you make sure we're better for it, and now we're looking forward to what's coming up (Saturday)." 

Huska's defensive pairings had a bit of a different feel Friday morning, notably the reunification of Kevin Bahl and Zach Whitecloud on one unit, while veteran Joel Hanley took on duties alongside Simon Nemec.

And should they end up playing together against the Canucks, Bahl and Whitecloud already have some built-in chemistry. The pair actually logged the third-most ice-time of any Calgary duo at 5-on-5 during the 2025-26 campaign, impressive given that Whitecloud wasn't acquired by the Flames until mid-January.

Their on-ice save percentage of .924 was also the third-highest figure of any Calgary pairing that spent more than 50 minutes together at 5-on-5 last season (according to Natural Stat Trick).

But for Huska, the lessons from Thursday's loss have been relayed. We'll get a better sense of any lineup adjustments once the team hits the ice at Rogers Arena for morning skate.

But everyone in the dressing room is eager to put their best feet (or skates) forward in this, their 2026-27 road opener.

"We went out and had a good skate today," Huska said. "So I think the focus for us now is looking forward to what's coming, and that's the first road game in Vancouver."

2. Know Your Enemy

To say the Canucks' first two games this season were wild would be a vast understatement.

Thirteen goals for, 14 goals against in a home-and-home split with the Oilers, the most recent contest coming in the form of a 9-7 thriller Thursday at Rogers Arena that saw Vancouver come ever so close to erasing a six-goal deficit.

The team skated Friday at UBC in advance of a busy weekend - the Golden Knights are in town Sunday after the Flames leave for Seattle - and Head Coach Manny Malhotra identified his club's defensive zone as an area in which he'd like to see improvement.

"It’s always give and take," said Malhotra, who was named the Canucks' bench boss during the off-season. "The fact that we’re able to score that number of goals is great, we want to capitalize on our opportunities. The fact that we need to score that many goals is problematic.

"Usually, it’s a race to three in this league … but the magic number is how many you give up. So the defensive aspect for me is where we need to be sharper."

Speaking of the number three, newcomer Paul Cotter - a teammate of Devin Cooley and Matt Coronato's at the 2026 IIHF World Championship - has three goals in his first two contests as a Canuck. Cotter, who had a career-best 16 tucks two seasons ago in New Jersey, scored twice in Vancouver's opener Tuesday in Edmonton before adding another marker in that wild game on Thursday.

Veteran Jake DeBrusk, who signed a seven-year deal in Vancouver two summers ago, was the extra forward at practice Friday, but Malhotra insisted those inquiring minds at his media session were reading too much into who slotted where during line rushes.

"The messaging for everybody on a day like today is ‘We need to get better, we need to be better,’" Malhotra noted.

"Everybody was very receiving of that message and took it the right way."

3. Fast Facts

2026-27 Season Series

Tonight's game is the first of four meetings between Calgary and Vancouver, with two contests set for the West Coast, and two more at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The next meeting, though, isn't until Boxing Day, when the Canucks pay a visit to the Stampede City. 

The Flames will be back at Rogers Arena in late February, with the season series capper set for April 10 at the Saddledome, in what is slated to be the final NHL regular season game at the iconic building.

Last season, Calgary won two of the three meetings against Vancouver, trading results in the two contests in Lotusland. The most recent matchup came Mar. 28 at the 'Dome, a night that saw the Flames score a 7-3 victory. Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost each had a goal and two assists in the win.

Did You Know?

Forward Sam Honzek made his NHL debut at Rogers Arena Oct. 9, 2024. The Flames' first-round pick from the 2023 Draft played his major junior career in Vancouver, too, serving as captain of the WHL's Vancouver Giants in his second and final season with the club in 2023-24.

Tonight, he's expected to skate in his former hockey home for the first time since that memorable evening two seasons ago, a game that saw the Flames erase a 4-1 deficit, as Connor Zary played overtime hero in a 6-5 Calgary triumph.

4. They Said It

Check this space soon for all the buzz from Saturday's morning skate at Rogers Arena!

5. Players To Watch