5 THINGS - FLAMES @ KINGS

FLAMES (31-24-15) @ KINGS (40-20-10)

8:30 p.m. MT | TV: Sportsnet West | RADIO: Sportsnet 960 The FAN

2022-23 Season Series: 1-0-1

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Competitive Nature' - Weegar
Projected Lineup
Say What: 'This Is Our Last Push'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Tyler Toffoli (61)
Goals - Toffoli (28)
Kings:
Points - Kevin Fiala (68)
Goals - Adrian Kempe (32)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 19.5% (22nd) / PK - 82.3% (8th)
Kings:
PP - 24.0% (6th) / PK - 75.9% (24th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 57.09% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 52.76% (13th)
Kings:
Shot Attempts: 52.34% (5th)
High-Danger Chances: 54.20% (6th)
Elias Lindholm isn't typically the one to spit fire.
In fact, his level-headed, even-keel approach in the throes of a challenging season is something to be admired.
But on Saturday, the situation clearly called for it.
"We've got to look ourselves in the mirror," the centre groaned when speaking to FlamesTV's Brendan Parker at the first intermission, "because that was unacceptable."
The Flames found themselves in an early 3-1 hole and were on their heels in a must-win game. They were "sloppy." Lacked "urgency." And their play with the puck resulted in numerous odd-man rushes that Jacob Markstrom (thankfully) was able to fend off to keep his mates in the fight.
It's one thing to pinpoint the issue and say you need to be better.
But it's another, altogether, to go out and do it.
Lindholm and the Flames backed up their words and had a dominant second and third, outshooting the Stars 26-14, while taking a pair of one goal leads, before the visitors replied to set up a dramatic finish at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
In the end, overtime was again Calgary's undoing, with Jason Robertson hoisting the winning goal over Markstrom's glove hand with only 12.3 seconds to play in the extra frame to give Dallas a 6-5 victory.
Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar led the way with a goal and two helpers each, while Lindholm, Blake Coleman and Nick Ritchie rounded out the offence, and Markstrom made 22 saves.
Another point … but on a night when the Flames badly needed two.
"Tough one," Andersson said. "You give Robertson an inch and he takes it and scores.
"Yeah, that sucked."
The Flames had plenty of good looks and even rang four off the pipe to extend their league 'lead' in that category. Andersson was among Calgary's clang gang, pitting a short-side try off Jake Oettinger's left post that was labelled for the top corner.
But for whatever reason, they can't shake the demons of 3-on-3, losing 12 of their 16 tries this year.
"Battling down to the last minute, going into OT, it just comes down to one play," Weegar said. "And we have to start making that play."
With the Winnipeg Jets falling 3-0 to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, the Flames enter the day five points out of the final playoff spot, with a game in hand.
"We're big boys in here. We do a good job of keeping the positivity and keeping the confidence high," Weegar said. "What are we going to do? Dwell on it and let it crush us? No.
"We have to keep going here."

The Kings are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, despite outshooting their Pacific rivals 40-17 at Crypto.com Arena.
Alex Edler and Carl Grundstrom scored, while Joonas Korpisalo made 15 saves for the Kings, who extended their point streak to nine games (7-0-2).
"The chances we got were well-executed chances, and we were pretty solid in our end," Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan told NHL.com. "Usually when a coach is saying that, he's leaving quite pleased and the team has won, but sometimes these nights happen."
The OTL briefly moved the Kings into a tie with the Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific, but they have since been passed with a Vegas victory on Sunday.
If the playoffs were to start today, the Kings would have home-ice advantage, but would face Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1 - so, you can understand the incentive to finish as high as possible. Nevertheless, the Kings boast the best home record in the Western Conference at 22-9-4, so 'The Crypt' has been good to them, no matter who the opponent is.
In a bizarre scheduling quirk, the Kings will not play again until Saturday when they host the Jets in the sixth of a seven-game homestand.
AMAZING ANDERSSON:
With a goal and a two helpers on Saturday, Rasmus Andersson had his third three-point effort of the season (1-2-3 on Dec. 7 vs. MIN and 1-2-3 on Jan. 27 vs. TBL). Three of Andersson's four-career three-point nights have come this year, helping him to 47 points (10G, 37A) in 67 games. ... Only four defencemen in franchise history have scored more game-winning goals in a season than Andersson's four: Dion Phaneuf (7 in 2005-06), Dougie Hamilton (5 in 2016-17), Paul Reinhart (5 in 1984-85) and Al MacInnis (5 in 1993-94).
LETHAL LINDHOLM:
Elias Lindholm has now recorded his fourth 20-goal season with Calgary, surpassing Matthew Tkachuk (3x) for the most 20-goal seasons with the Flames since 2018-19, when he was acquired. Lindholm has scored 137 goals with the Flames since 2018-19, leading all skaters over that span and is just one point away from tying Johnny Gaudreau (321) as the Flames' point-leader in that span.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Flames have earned at least a point in their last three tips to Los Angeles.
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
Saturday might have been Weegar's best game as a Flame.
The truth is, the blueliner has been playing at a high level for some time now, but he's now finding "comfort" and "confidence" in a variety of offensive situations, too.
The 29-year-old is flourishing on a pair with Andersson, playing - seemingly - with more freedom as he activates up ice. With goals in back-to-back games and some of the best underlying numbers on the team over his last three outings, Weegar is earning all sorts of praise.
"He's been really good for us since the (all-star) break," Head Coach Darryl Sutter said prior to the Dallas game. "He's been really good for us. He's a really good competitor and he's really stepped his identity and his profile up. He's done a really good job."

Kings - Adrian Kempe
As impressive as he was last year, some were left wondering if a 35-goal, 54-point campaign was a mirage, or if that was the breakout season he was always on the cusp of.
Well … If it wasn't already, it's awfully clear now:
Kempe is the real deal.
The 26-year-old is having another dynamite season and is poised to set new career highs offensively.
He enters the night with 32 goals and 52 points, but is goalless in his last four outings.
Darryl Sutter on his message to the group after losing some ground in the playoff race:
"Stay in the moment, boys. Everybody is trying to push you away. Stay there."
Andersson on a crucial California road swing:
"It feels like I say it every time I talk to you guys, but we have to get every point we can. We got one (Saturday) and we have a big trip coming up where we need to get four points."