5 Things - Flames @ Sabres

1. Coming In

It was a tough night in the Windy City.

The Flames fell behind 2-0 to the Blackhawks but clawed back to tie the game in the third before Chicago tallied three straight for a 5-2 win.

Rasmus Andersson and Matt Coronato scored for Calgary.

Sam Morton - who was recalled Monday from the Wranglers and centred a line with Adam Klapka and Ryan Lomberg - had six hits in the contest and was 8-for-9 in the faceoff dot in his 11:05 of ice time.

CLICK HERE FOR GAME STORY AND RECAP

Earlier Tuesday, the team picked up John Beecher from the Bruins off waivers. He was in Buffalo awaiting the team's arrival after their tilt with the Blackhawks.

CLICK FOR MORE ON BEECHER'S DEBUT TONIGHT

2. Know Your Enemy

The Sabres are coming off a 5-1 drubbing of the Oilers Monday night at home, their second straight win.

While Buffalo is 1-5-2 on the road, they improved to 6-3-2 at the Keybank Center.

Noah Ostlund opened the scoring in the first period - his first of two on the night - before Jack Roslovic tied things up in the second period for Edmonton.

But Bowen Byram and Beck Malenstyn then tallied in the middle frame, with Ostlund and Tage Thompson rounding out the scoring in the third period.

Colton Ellis made 32 saves in the victory for the Sabres, while blueliner Rasmus Dahlin had a pair of helpers.

“I think the biggest thing in the third is still being aggressive,” former Calgary Hitmen player Malenstyn told media postgame. “Getting that extra goal puts more pressure on them, all of that kind of stuff. But realistically it was sticking to that same game plan. Maybe there’s a few plays that you aren’t quite as aggressive, you keep a guy back, but for the most part, I thought we played on the front foot, which allowed us to keep them under pressure and not give them anything for free.”

Buffalo was winless in their previous five outings before putting together these pair of wins.

“I thought both sides of the puck, probably our best game,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “Even leading in the third period we had a lot of really good decisions with the puck and stayed away from any type of high-danger opportunities.”

3. Fast Facts

Hit Parade

Adam Klapka registered a game-high 11 hits last night in Chicago, establishing a new personal single-game best. His 11-hit performance marked the most by any Flames player in a game since Martin Pospisil recorded 11 on April 5, 2025, against the Vegas Golden Knights. Since the NHL began tracking hits in 2005–06, Klapka’s total is tied for the most by any Flames player in a single game.

Did You Know?

Flames new acquisition John Beecher was teammates with Sabres defenceman Owen Power at the University of Michigan for two seasons (2020–21 and 2021–22). The duo helped the Wolverines capture the Big Ten Championship in their second year together, with Beecher contributing an assist in the Big Ten Final as Michigan edged the Minnesota Golden Gophers 4–3.

Stick tap to Flames PR guru Jordan Bay for these tidbits

4. Welcome, John

Size ✓

Skating ✓

Penalty-kill ✓

Faceoffs ✓

Age ✓

"He checks a lot of boxes for us," said Flames GM Craig Conroy Tuesday after the team acquired John Beecher off waivers from the Boston Bruins.

The 24-year-old was taken in the first-round pick (30th overall) by the Bruins in 2019. In 136 NHL games, he has 11 goals and 22 points but was really stands out is impressive 53.1% percentage in the faceoff dot.

The big 6-foot-3, 220-pounder plays centre but can also slot in at left wing.

"I think, first of all, you look at the size, skating, penalty-kill play is good, good in the faceoffs - a lot of positive things," said Conroy. "With (Sam Honzek's) injury just happening, just made perfect sense for us (to claim him). I'm looking forward to see him in the lineup here soon."

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Rasmus Andersson

The blueliner had a team-high two points with a goal and a helper in the loss to the Blackhawks, and led the Flames with 24:13 minutes of ice time.

Sabres - Tage Thompson

Counting his tally against the Oilers, Thompson has scored a goal in four of his last five games - including three straight. He leads Buffalo in both goals, with nine, and points with 17, one more than Alex Tuch.