5 Things - Flames @ Stars

1. Lone Star Skate

Blake Coleman implored everyone aboard the Flames' Air Canada charter to do one thing Sunday, as the team touched down at Love Field.

"Breathe it in," he announced. "It's God's country."

Suffice it to say, the Plano, Tex. product was all smiles at Monday's Flames practice in Dallas, too, his two daughters scurrying around the Calgary dressing room as the veteran forward took questions from the media.

"It's fun," Coleman said of spending some time at home with his wife and three (soon to be four) kids. "They got their playmate back, so last night, it was tiring,

"But it's great to be home."

But amid the family time, Coleman is also cognizant that this stretch of the season is important to instill habits. It's a vastly different-looking Flames group than the one that played here a day before the 2025 Trade Deadline (Calgary's last visit to American Airlines Center), and as one of the veteran voices in the room, it's on Coleman and his colleagues to show the way, with Saturday's 5-3 win in Anaheim providing the most recent example of team success.

"You want guys to learn how to win, it's a hard league to win in," he shared. "At this point of the year, it's (about) guys understanding how tough it is to win night in and night out.

"It was a good effort, we were opportunistic with our chances, and a couple guys had really big games for us. We're getting a little more of that."

As much as the home stretch of the 2025-26 campaign is about veterans leading the way, it's also about Calgary's young players getting valuable experience, too. Take Aydar Suniev, for instance. The young winger was recalled from the AHL's Wranglers Friday and could well make his second career NHL appearance under the bright Dallas lights Tuesday evening.

"It’s a lot of excitement," Suniev said Monday about being recalled, and possibly featuring against the Stars. "There’s always going to be pressure, but I think I’ve just got to go out there and do my thing, do what I do best, and I think it’s going to be fine."

That's the type of message Coleman hopes to send to his younger colleagues, too: a mantra of playing to one's strengths.

Everyone has a strength," he explained. "For me, it's just to tell those guys to lean into it. If you're a great penalty killer, you block shots, whatever it is, just do it to the best of your ability. And enjoy it.

"These are low-pressure games, that aren't very common in this league. So it's an opportunity to come in and do it under a little less of a microscope, play hard and play well."

2. Know Your Enemy

With the playoffs less than two weeks away, it's perhaps fitting the Stars had a playoff-like matchup in their last outing Saturday against the Avalanche. 

Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon had the only goals of the game as Colorado skated away with both points, in a game Dallas coach (and former Flames bench boss) Glen Gulutzan figured had all the makings of a post-season tilt.

"You saw what you’re probably in store for come playoff time,” Gulutzan told reporters after the game. "Especially in the Central (is) just that tight checking, both teams willing to check. 

"It was almost who scores first, it’s just one of those games and they made a play first and got the first goal and that was the difference."

To Gulutzan's point, the Central Division - especially the top teams - constitute a kind of Murderers' Row these days. Of the seven clubs with 100 or more points in the standings this season, three are from the Central including Dallas, who sit in second place in the division with 102 - eight back of the first-place Avalanche and two up on third-place Minnesota.

Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston sit 1-2 in Stars scoring with 89 and 80 points respectively, but Finnish star Mikko Rantanen isn't far behind with 73 points, despite appearing in only 59 games this season.

And the goaltending duo of Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith has been solid, too, with both netminders posting a .900+ save percentage on the campaign. DeSmith has been the goalie of record in both meetings with the Flames this season.

3. Fast Facts

2025-26 Season Series

Tonight's game is the third and final meeting of the season between Calgary and Dallas, but it's the first time the two sides have met at American Airlines Center in 2025-26.

Matt Coronato and Joel Farabee scored in a 3-2 Flames shootout win Nov. 22 at the Scotiabank Saddledome, a night that saw Devin Cooley earn the victory in goal with 28 saves.

The Stars won the most recent matchup by a 6-1 final score Mar. 3. Morgan Frost has the Calgary marker that evening.

Did You Know?

Zach Whitecloud has been eating pucks for breakfast, lunch and dinner since the Flames returned from the Olympic break.

The defenceman has 46 blocked shots over that span, good for fourth among NHL skaters as of the start of play Monday.

Washington's Martin Fehervary leads the loop with 53 blocked shots since the League returned to action following the Winter Games in Milan.

4. They Said It

Check this space soon for the buzz from Tuesday's morning skate!

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Joel Farabee

Farabee comes into tonight's game with five points in his last five games, and thanks in part to a first-period tally Saturday in Anaheim, he's within striking distance of his third 20-goal campaign of his NHL career.

The winger has 18 tallies on the season - matching his assist total for the campaign - and last time the Flames were in Dallas, Farabee scored a highlight-reel marker that saw him dance through the Stars defence before roofing a puck home.

Farabee is tied for second among Flames skaters in points since the Trade Deadline (11), a number exceeded only by his good buddy and linemate Morgan Frost, who has 12.

Stars - Jason Robertson

Robertson leads the Stars in scoring with 89 points and on Mar. 28, he secured the third 40-goal campaign of his NHL career, and with one more point this season, he'll become the first player in Dallas franchise history to have multiple 90-point campaigns with the club.

He's tied with teammate Wyatt Johnston for the fourth-most powerplay points in the League, too; the duo have 39 apiece entering play Tuesday.

Robertson has 11 goals and 22 points in 14 career games against the Flames.