5 Things - Flames vs. Avalanche

1. Showtime

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats rocked the Scotiabank Saddledome Thursday evening, the band blasted away at a 90-minute set that cannonaded through the dear old 'Dome.

But a quick reprieve from his up-tempo numbers also brought a message for the Flames, when Rateliff inspired many an iPhone flashlight with his soulful ballad 'And It's Still Alright.'

That much is true for the Flames, who came away disappointed Wednesday against Vancouver, but wake up this morning still in control of their position in the standings, clinging to that final Wild Card berth in the Western Conference ahead of another big tilt against the Avalanche. GET TICKETS

And tonight, on Pride Night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, they'll look to use home ice to their advantage - especially with seven of their following nine games scheduled for visiting arenas.

It's a lot of hockey. An 18-game sprint that features 18 'must-win' games, to borrow a phrase from Head Coach Ryan Huska.

That schedule is further compounded by last month's two-week 4 Nations Face-Off reprieve.

But that's just alright for goaltender Dustin Wolf, who looks at the busy calendar as an opportunity to generate momentum before heading East next week.

“You play every other day, and it’s kind of a blessing," he said following Thursday's optional skate at WinSport. "If you like a game, you get to get right back at it, and if you don’t, again, you get to get right back at it.

"Don’t have too much time to dwell on the past, you just go out there and keep playing.”

But surely, Wolf and his Flames teammates are dwelling a bit on the status of their captain.

Mikael Backlund left Wednesday's game versus Vancouver after the first period, and Huska did not have an update on his status during his media session Thursday.

Should Backlund not be available for selection, it falls on everyone to step their game up in his stead.

"It’s not just on one guy. You always talk about that - when a key player goes down - that it’s a collective thing, where everybody has to raise their game and pick up the slack together," Huska said. "If you’re a guy that’s going to get more ice-time in certain situations, I think you look at it as a great opportunity and one that you want to take advantage of.

"That’s what we want from our players, if Mikael isn’t ready to go."

Rateliff's lyrics point to that, too.

They say you learn a lot out there, how to scorch and burn.

And according to Huska, there are eager faces in his room ready to step up when the team needs them most.

A goal here to support leading scorers Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, a shot-block there to assist in the defensive zone. Every little bit helps, as the team continues to scratch and claw its way forward.

“I think there’s a lot of players like Frost, Farabee, Sharan - guys that were on the ice (Thursday) - they want to help the team, they want to contribute, so getting on the ice and feeling pucks a little bit is important," Huska said. "You can’t rely on two people, and I think there’s a lot of people around our room that understand that."

The Flames have points in five straight games.

The Avalanche, points in seven consecutive contests.

Another must-win game. Another night on the stage.

Under those bright, Scotiabank Saddledome lights.

“We’re fighting for our lives to be able to get to play, it’s awesome to play meaningful games down the stretch," said Wolf. "Obviously, the next 18 (games) are going to be very meaningful.

"We’ve got to keep building on our strengths, and keep working every night to get two points."

2. Know Your Enemy

The Avalanche were at WinSport alongside the Flames Thursday morning, and arrived in Calgary earlier this week having earned at least a point in seven straight games. Joel Kiviranta had the lone Colorado marker in the team's last outing - a 2-1 shootout setback at Minnesota Tuesday - but before that, the Avs swept a six-game homestand, outscoring their opponents by at least three goals in each of the half-dozen wins.

That said, head coach Jared Bednar is expecting Colorado's next run of games - four of the next five for his side are away from Ball Arena - to be close contests.

"This time of year, things are tightening up," Bednar told reporters following Tuesday's contest. "Just look at the shots for and against over the course of our homestand. We've been playing pretty good hockey but it's tight-checking.

"I liked our team's game tonight, a lot actually. I thought we did a really nice job with our checking game, and still, we were able to carve out some good chances."

The Avalanche team we see on Scotiabank Saddledome ice tonight will have a bit of a different look and feel, too, after Colorado made moves ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.

General manager Chris McFarland brought in veteran centre Brock Nelson in a deal with the New York Islanders, then grabbed forward Charlie Coyle from the Boston Bruins on deadline day.

Nelson had 34 or more goals in each of his past three seasons and played more than 900 games on Long Island.

But as much as there's been change in the Mile High City this season, the team's heartbeat still centres around Nathan MacKinnon and Calgarian Cale Makar, who sit 1-2 in team scoring.

MacKinnon hit a massive milestone earlier this month, too, becoming the 100th NHL player to hit 1,000 career points, and the speedy centre is the only NHL skater in 2024-25 to have surpassed the 100-point mark.

3. Wild Card Update

The Flames (30-23-11, 71 points) enter tonight's action holding down the second and final Wild Card berth in the Western Conference, by virtue of having played one fewer game than the Canucks (30-24-11), who are idle Friday.

Vancouver is followed closely by both the Utah Hockey Club (29-25-11, 69 points) and St. Louis Blues (31-28-7, 69 points). The Blues suffered a 5-3 defeat Thursday night at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Utah is in action this evening as well, visiting the Seattle Kraken at 8 p.m. MT.

The Minnesota Wild occupy the first Wild Card spot in the West - they sit eight points ahead of the Flames with 79 points in the standings.

Slightly closer stand the Edmonton Oilers, the #3 seed in the Pacific Division.

Edmonton remained stuck on 78 points Thursday following a 3-2 loss at New Jersey, and by virtue of Los Angeles' 3-0 home-ice win over Washington Thursday evening, the Kings (35-20-9, 79 points) leap-frogged the Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division.

4. Fast Facts

2024-25 Season Series

Tonight marks the second of three meetings this season between the Flames and Avalanche, and second in the Stampede City, too.

Colorado skated away with a 4-2 victory over Calgary Feb. 6, scoring three times in the middle frame to break the contest open.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Rasmus Andersson has the Flames markers that evening, while Dustin Wolf turned aside 30 shots in the Calgary crease.

After this evening's game, the two teams will meet one more time during the regular season, Mar. 31 in Denver.

Did You Know?

Thanks to his two-goal effort Wednesday night against the Canucks, Jonathan Huberdeau now sits just a tally shy of 250 for his NHL career.

A total of 51 of those goals have come in a Flames uniform, with the rest having been scored during Huberdeau's time with the Florida Panthers.

He was special on special-teams two nights ago, too, scoring a powerplay and short-handed marker in that 4-3 shootout setback.

Huberdeau is only the second NHL player this season to score a PPG and SHG in the same game, joining Ottawa Shane Pinto, who did so Jan. 11.

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Nazem Kadri

Kadri's role down the middle of the ice might become that much more important, in the event captain Mikael Backlund isn't able to go versus the Avs.

But the 2022 Stanley Cup champ is the type of player that lives for big moments.

He had a goal, an assist, and seven shots Wednesday night against Vancouver - his first-period goal was one of the prettier tallies the Flames have scored this season, too.

Kadri has 23 goals on the season - second-most among Calgary skaters - and his 23:48 of ice-time Wednesday was his most on home ice in 2024-25, surpassing a previous high set Feb. 6 against Colorado.

Avalanche - Martin Necas

Tonight marks Necas' third visit to the Scotiabank Saddledome this season, and so far, it's felt just like home for the 26-year-old.

Last time here in February, he scored twice, added an assist and was named the game's first star.

He also earned first star honours as a member of the Hurricanes by virtue of his goal and assist Oct. 24.

Necas has eight points from his last seven games and set a new career best Mar. 13 with his 72nd point of the season.