5 Things - Flames vs. Canucks

1. Old Rivals, New Stakes

The players know it.

The coaching staff does too.

Tonight's tilt with the Canucks is the biggest game of the season - so far.

And while the jockeying for position in the Western Conference playoff chase is bound to continue right up until Game 82, there's a tension, a sense of anticipation, about Game 64 tonight at the Scotiabank Saddledome. GET TICKETS

Defenceman MacKenzie Weegar considered Calgary's recent run of games - including that mammoth six-game road trip through some of the toughest away buildings in the NHL - the toughest stretch of his career, a statement he qualified with the travel, the condensed post-4 Nations schedule and the strength of opponent.

But after that 1-0 victory over Montreal Saturday, Weegar's crew has had a chance to lay out - like Bill Evans might have done when Paul Motian wanted a quick rip on the drums during a quick exchange of four-bar riffs.

That quick pause has the Flames energized.

Ready for this tilt.

And ready to put on a show for the C of Red.

"It’s exciting to play in playoff hockey like this - at this time of year - is what you want, against I guess a rivalry opponent, you could say right now," Weegar said Tuesday. "But we’ve got to take advantage of it. They’re coming in on a back-to-back, three in four.

"But it’s going to be exciting, the atmosphere’s going to be great, the fanbase knows what’s at stake here, too, so I’m sure they’ll be great for us. I expect the energy to be pretty high."

Jonathan Huberdeau chatted with the media Tuesday too, explaining how much he'd like to experience playoff hockey at the 'Dome this spring after hearing all about it for his first two seasons in Calgary.

That's definitely the goal. But the 30-year-old is cognizant the path to get there still has a few important steps yet to be taken.

"Division game, so I think for us, it’s important that we use that home advantage," he said. "And especially against a team like that, I mean it’s probably one of our biggest games of the year right now.

"Every game ’til the end of the year is gonna be like that, but we’ve got to focus. One game at a time, and Vancouver’s the biggest one."

This season series hasn't disappointed either.

It's featured wild comebacks, home wins by both clubs, and an absolute fracas of a second period on New Year's Eve that saw the Scotiabank Saddledome penalty boxes more tightly jammed than the C-Train at rush hour.

Tonight's final chapter has all the makings of another classic. Fans and players alike on tenterhooks, anticipating just what might happen next.

"Every game is important," Huberdeau said. "We're in the playoffs, we're out.

"Why not stay in, get a little streak going?"

2. Know Your Enemy

The Canucks land in Calgary on the heels of a 4-2 loss Tuesday night against Montreal. They trailed the contest from the second minute of the first period onwards but still, just about managed to battle all the way back with a third-period rally.

Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson counted the Canucks markers - both in period three - but Cole Caufield's second-period tally stood up as the decider, as Vancouver fell to 13-12-7 on home ice this season.

Captain Quinn Hughes leads the team in scoring by a significant margin - his 60 points on the campaign are more than 20 more than any other Vancouver skater.

The smooth-skating defender has not played since Mar. 1, but Vancouver bench boss Rick Tocchet told reporters Tuesday night Hughes will travel to Calgary and that there's a good possibility he could dress against the Flames.

Jake DeBrusk's 22 tallies top the team, while the Canucks' longest-serving forward - Brock Boeser - is close behind with 18 of his own.

Goaltender Kevin Lankinen was tagged with the loss Tuesday against Montreal and has cemented his future in Vancouver in this, his first season with the Canucks.

He's won 22 games, four via the shutout, to this point in the campaign.

Lankinen - who represented Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off - recently signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract to stay on the West Coast.

3. Wild Card Update

The Flames wake up this morning in the second and final Wild Card berth in the Western Conference, by virtue of Vancouver's 4-2 loss to Montreal Tuesday night.

Calgary (30-23-10, 70 points) holds a one-point advantage on both the Canucks and St. Louis Blues, and holds games in hand on both as well; the Flames have played one less game than Vancouver, and two fewer contests than St. Louis.

The Utah Hockey Club (28-25-11, 67 points) is three points off the pace.

The Minnesota Wild (37-24-4, 78 points) occupy the first Wild Card position in the West, while the Los Angeles Kings (34-20-9, 77 points) currently sit third in the Pacific Division, seven points up on Calgary.

Utah is also included on Wednesday's four-game NHL slate - they host the Anaheim Ducks at 8 p.m. MT.

4. Fast Facts

2024-25 Season Series

Calgary has taken two of the three meetings from Vancouver this season, earning a win in Alberta, and a win in B.C. along the way.

The season-opener Oct. 9 featured a comeback for the ages. The Flames rallied from a 4-1 deficit to stun the Canucks 6-5 in overtime at Rogers Arena, with Connor Zary providing the finishing touch in overtime.

Nazem Kadri had the decider in the most recent meeting, a feisty, fight-filled 3-1 Calgary win on New Year's Eve at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Zary, Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil have each recorded three points in the season series.

Did You Know?

They've been doing anything but killing them softly.

In fact, Calgary's penalty-kill has some real bite.

The Flames are the only NHL club to boast a perfect PK in the month of March.

Calgary is a perfect 17-17 in that category in their five games dating back to Mar. 1.

And the team has the best penalty-kill percentage in the league since the NHL returned from the 4 Nations break Feb. 22, clicking at a whopping 92.3%.

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Joel Farabee

Beezer is starting to heat up.

Farabee has goals in back-to-back games - including the lone tally of the contest Saturday against Montreal - giving him a trio of markers since arriving in Calgary at the end of January.

Not only that, he's shooting the puck, totalling eight shots on target over his last three outings.

The 25-year-old comes into tonight's tilt three appearances shy of 400 for his NHL career.

Canucks - Elias Pettersson

Pettersson is starting to shoot the puck with a lot more regularity, and he's getting the results to prove it.

He had a goal last night against the Canadiens - his second in the last three games - as part of a night that saw him finish with a team-high four shots on goal, and nine shot attempts.

He's launched 10 pucks on goal over his last four games, a marked improvement over his previous nine contests, a stretch that saw him place just five pucks on goal.

And Pettersson is deadly on the powerplay - seven of his 13 goals this season have come on the man-advantage.