5 Things - Flames vs. Devils

1. The (Former) Devil Wears Blasty

Saturday plans start a bit earlier this weekend, as the Flames close out their six-game homestand against the Devils in the team's first-ever Next Gen Game. Get tickets

The contest marks the first meeting between Calgary and New Jersey since the two teams played trade partners in June; the Flames dealt Tyler Toffoli to the Devils for Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick (Aydar Suniev).

Since arriving in the Stampede City, Sharangovich - affectionately known as ‘Sharky’ - has settled into a top-six role, scoring five times while adding seven assists on a line with Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane.

He’s earned a spot on the powerplay, he kills penalties, and over Calgary’s six-game homestand, he’s been playing north of 20 minutes a night, for the most part.

For the 25-year-old, the move to Calgary represented a new opportunity, the kind of tale that Western folklore is built upon, and Sharangovich is working to take advantage of what’s been placed in front of him with the Flames.

“I have a lot of opportunity, a lot of ice time,” Sharangovich said Friday. “It’s fun to play with Lindy and Mangy.

“We just need to score more goals, because we’ve had a lot of chances the last couple of games.”

Lindholm spent most of the 2022-23 season centring a line built around Toffoli and his ability to shoot the puck, but he sees plenty of creative qualities in Sharangovich, too.

“He’s got a lot of speed, a lot of skill, a good shot,” Lindholm noted. “It’s a little bit of everything, he’s been playing pretty good lately.”

The Belarusian winger is two seasons removed from a 24-goal campaign with New Jersey, evidence of a skill-set that Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska figures can help a group that’s been scoring by committee through the first 26 games of the season.

“He’s a talented player, he can shoot the puck, he can make plays in small areas, he’s got some creativity to him,” Huska said Friday. “What we want to keep seeing him do is work on how hard he is on the puck.

“If there’s something that’s up for grabs or 50-50, we want him hungrier and harder on it to make sure he gives himself an opportunity to make those plays, so that’s the push we have with him right now.”

In Thursday’s wild comeback against Carolina, Sharangovich showcased that creativity while shorthanded, zipping a blind pass backwards, through his legs to a streaking Blake Coleman, who wired home the eventual game-winning marker.

“I’ve played with Blake all season on PK, we’re always thinking that if we have a chance to go into the offensive zone and make a chance, we should go,” Sharangovich said. “A lot of (opponents) aren’t ready when guys play PK and they want to go into the offensive zone.

“When I took the puck in the neutral zone, I was thinking, ‘Nobody’s coming to me’ and Blake just started yelling, ‘Pass! Pass to me!’

“I passed to him, he made a good play, and scored the winning goal.”

Needless to say, Saturday’s afternoon affair is one Sharangovich has had circled on the calendar for months.

“Of course, it’s fun to play against (my) old team,” he said with a grin.

“I’m so excited for the game.”

2. Know Your Enemy

The Devils are 2-for-2 on their Western road swing, with their most recent outing coming in the form of a 2-1 victory Thursday night in Seattle.

Simon Nemec - the second-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft - scored his first NHL goal, breaking a 1-1 tie nine minutes into the second period.

“I thought we did a good job of staying inside,” head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters following Thursday’s win. “First two periods, besides a couple turnovers on puck play just inside the blue line, we defended really well.”

Akira Schmid made 37 saves in the victory over the Kraken; Ruff credited his goaltender following the contest.

"He helped us win a hockey game - solid performance,” Ruff offered. “There (were) a couple opportunities where they could have gained some momentum, and he made big saves for us.”

Jack Hughes leads the way offensively for New Jersey and as of Friday afternoon, he sat ninth in NHL scoring with 33 points.

Former Flame Tyler Toffoli, who was traded to the Devils this past summer, has set the pace in terms of goal-scoring with 12 tallies to date.

Overall, New Jersey holds a 13-10-1 record, and have found their stride after struggling through the first half of November. The Devils come into Saturday’s contest with five wins from their past six games (they’ve scored five or more goals in three of those five victories).

“We’re trending in the right direction,” Ruff said. “I think we were giving up too much, like the strength of our team last year was the ability to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

“When you’ve got a one-goal lead, it’s an uncomfortable feeling, but you have to execute the right plays and I think (Thursday’s win) was a step again in the right direction, where we were playing the right way.”

3. Fast Facts

2022-23 Season Series:

The two teams completed their two-game season series over a four-day span in November of 2022, beginning Nov. 5 in Calgary, where New Jersey scored a 4-3 overtime victory thanks to a Fabian Zetterlund decider 2:38 into extra time.

The Devils won the rematch 3-2 Nov. 8 in Newark; Nico Hischier’s goal with 8:10 to play broke a 2-2 deadlock in favour of the hosts.

Nazem Kadri scored for Calgary in both meetings with New Jersey last season, while Rasmus Andersson chipped in with three helpers over the two-game set.

Did You Know?

Keep your stick on the ice, and go to the net when you’re on Mikael Backlund’s line!

The Flames captain is tied for seventh in the NHL - and tied for fourth among NHL forwards with Mason McTavish and Evander Kane - in rebounds created with 15, according to Natural Stat Trick.

4. Quotable

Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska on Tyler Toffoli’s return to the ‘Dome:

“Tyler was a good player for us, there’s no doubt about it. He brought a lot of things to our team, he won, he has a pedigree about him, for sure. He’s got a lot of good friends in our room, but not for tomorrow.”

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Yegor Sharangovich

Sharangovich faces his former team for the first time after assisting on Blake Coleman’s game-winning shorthanded goal Thursday against the Hurricanes.

The 25-year-old has points in two of his last three games and is starting to see a significant bump in his ice time, too.

He’s played 21 or more minutes in four of the Flames’ last five games, after averaging 14:25 per game in his final season with New Jersey last winter.

Devils - Tyler Toffoli

It stands to reason that Toffoli will draw a fair amount of attention Saturday. As mentioned above, he leads the Devils with 12 goals to date this season.

He was also Calgary’s top goal-getter in 2022-23, finishing the campaign with a career-best 34 tallies and 73 points.

Toffoli has been held off the scoresheet through the first two games of New Jersey’s current four-game Western swing.