5 Things - Flames @ Hurricanes

1. Rubber Match

The Flames arrived in North Carolina late Saturday evening with an eye on ending their three-game road trip on a happy note against the Hurricanes.

Calgary settled for a Florida split, winning 6-3 in Tampa Thursday before falling 5-1 Saturday afternoon against the Florida Panthers, but Sunday's quick turnaround provides the Flames a chance to forget all about what happened at the tail end of their Sunshine State sojourn.

“We have no choice,” captain Mikael Backlund said of his team’s need to flush the Panthers loss from their memories. “We want to win (Sunday), so we've got to turn our (attention) here pretty quickly.

“No one likes to lose, but when you play back-to-backs, that's what you've got to do - you've got to shift your focus pretty quickly to the next game.”

Defenceman Brayden Pachal logged 18 minutes of ice time against Florida and agrees the matchup in Carolina is a chance to make amends for Saturday’s setback.

“I think when you don't play your best or you're not happy with the end result, it's nice to bounce right back and get back to it,” he said. “That's the goal.

“We're going to learn from our mistakes, carry it into (Sunday) and come out with a better effort.”

Pachal spoke highly of Flames newcomer Daniil Miromanov earlier this week - the two played three seasons together in the Vegas organization - and Miromanov didn’t disappoint in his Calgary debut Saturday.

He tallied 18:59 of ice time - the third-highest total among any Flames player in Saturday’s loss - and earned nearly four minutes of powerplay time on the second unit.

He finished even on the day, and consistently delivered reliable first passes out of the Calgary zone against a speedy Florida forecheck.

“Both of our situations, we came from not playing for lengthy periods of time and then getting thrown right into the fire,” Pachal said of himself and Miromanov. “But sometimes that's what you need.

“He got his game as the game went on and we're going to see a lot better from all of us out there tomorrow.”

2. Know Your Enemy

The Hurricanes made some big moves at the trade deadline, snagging forwards Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh and Evgeni Kuznetsov from Washington in a pair of blockbuster deals.

They’re making moves on the ice, too, coming into this afternoon contest 7-2-1 over their past 10 games, thanks in part to a 4-2 win on Saturday in New Jersey.

Teuvo Teravainen collected a goal and two assists, one of his helpers coming on Andrei Svechnikov’s game-winner at the 18:49 mark of the third period.

Pyotr Kochetkov earned the win in goal, making 23 saves as Carolina completed its season series sweep of the Devils.

Hurricanes scoring leader Sebastian Aho was held off the scoresheet Saturday, but he enters today’s contest leading the team in goals (24), assists (41) and points (65).

Carolina creates offence: their 59.61% Corsi for (per Natural Stat Trick) is tops in the NHL, and they’ve also surrendered the fewest high-danger chances against - an average of 7.63 per game - in the league.

And their special teams - they’re special.

The Hurricanes have the third-best powerplay in the league, clicking at a rate of 26.5%, while their penalty-kill is one of only three in the NHL whose efficiency is better than Calgary’s - it’s operating at an 84.8% success rate.

3. Fast Facts

2023-24 Season Series

The Flames took the front end of this two-game season series thanks to a third period comeback Dec. 7 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Trailing 2-0 entering the final frame, Calgary got goals in quick succession from Rasmus Andersson, Connor Zary before Blake Coleman scored the shorthanded decider with 8:16 left on the clock.

Dustin Wolf made 28 saves between the pipes for the Flames on that Thursday evening to record the victory in goal.

Did You Know?

Flames captain Mikael Backlund is two goals shy of 200 for his NHL career.

To date, only one Swedish skater - Kent Nilsson - has scored more than 200 times for the franchise. Nilsson tallied 229 goals for the club, beginning with the Atlanta Flames in the fall of 1979, through the 1984-85 season in Calgary.

Backlund, by the way, is also four points away from tying the 529 amassed by Guy Chouinard in a Flames sweater - Chouinard’s totals stand as the eighth-most in franchise history.

4. Lineup Notes

Here’s how the Flames lined up Saturday against the Panthers.

With no morning skate, Sunday's projected lineup will be available approximately 20 minutes prior to puck drop.

Forwards

Jonathan Huberdeau - Yegor Sharangovich - Matt Coronato
Jakob Pelletier - Nazem Kadri - Andrei Kuzmenko
Andrew Mangiapane - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman
Dryden Hunt - Kevin Rooney - Walker Duehr

Defence

MacKenzie Weegar - Rasmus Andersson
Oliver Kylington - Brayden Pachal
Joel Hanley - Daniil Miromanov

Goaltenders

Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Yegor Sharangovich

‘Sharky’ scored the Flames’ lone goal Saturday in Sunrise and so far on the trip, he’s lit the lamp three times.

He led the Flames with six shots on gaol against the Panthers, too.

His 26 goals this season are good for a share of the team lead, and he enters play Sunday tied for second among NHL skaters with six goals since Feb. 27.

Hurricanes - Evgeni Kuznetsov

All eyes in Carolina will be on Kuznetsov, who is expected to play in his first home game as a Hurricane after making his debut with the club Saturday in New Jersey.

Kuznetsov played 13 minutes and was a +1 in the ‘Canes 4-2 win versus the Devils.

While he’s managed only six goals in the NHL this season (all with Washington prior to being dealt south earlier this week), Kuznetsov is a dangerous character, with four seasons of 70 or more points on his C.V.