5 Things - Flames vs. Ducks

1. Turn On The Heat

To a man, the Flames were displeased with Friday's result against the Capitals. A strong first period slipped away, and Washington left town with two points.

The blueprint for success was there, though, in those opening 20 minutes, and this evening against Anaheim, the goal will be to fulfill that gameplan to completion as Calgary wraps a five-game homestand at the Scotiabank Saddledome. GET TICKETS

"The way we played in the first period is the way we want - and expect - to play," Head Coach Ryan Huska said post-game Friday.
"You can say what you want about our lack of goal-scoring over the last little while; if you play that way, you’re going to score goals.

"It’s just a matter of time."

And in fairness, Huska spoke similar words when his team suffered through an early-season slump.

Trust the process.

His group did, and they were rewarded with a spell of positive results for a good month in late November and December.

And for Connor Zary and his teammates, the important thing now is to not get bogged down by what hasn't gone Calgary's way this week.

"It’s frustrating, for sure. I think we know as a group in here, we’ve got to score goals, we’ve got to find goals, we’ve got to create offence," he said Friday. "I think we’ve talked about it over the last couple days - different ways we can do that - getting pucks to the net, getting more traffic and recovering pucks.

"At the end of the day, that’s on our shoulders, to get there and bear down and score those goals. There’s a 99.9% chance you’re not going to win when you score one goal, right? So you’ve obviously got to get more."

The Flames have just five games left before an extended Olympic break. Four of those games will be played on home ice.

Five more games to push.

To do things the right way, and turn the tide.

"When you’re not having success, sometimes you have a tendency to almost hope things are going to happen, instead of going and making them happen," said Huska. "So a little bit of momentum shifts to start the period, you have to shift it right back, right away."

2. Know Your Enemy

The Ducks are flying together, plain and simple.

Anaheim comes into tonight's game sitting third in the Pacific Division, riding the strength of a six-game winning streak that continued with a 4-2 triumph Friday in Seattle. Cutter Gauthier and Pavel Mintyukov each had a goal and an assist, while Lukas Dostal turned aside 20 of the 22 shots that came his way.

First-year Ducks coach Joel Quenneville has instilled a hard-working attitude in Orange County, and so far, that mindset is paying dividends.

"I think we talked about this at the beginning of the year -- we want to be the hardest-working team. That’s going to be our identity,” Quenneville told reporters after Friday's win. "We want to have a check-first mentality. I think we had a different look to us at the beginning of the year, where we could score goals, it looked like, at a higher rate than anybody would have thought, including us.

"I think we got more prepared and play without the puck, and that commitment is noticeable, and the results speak for themselves."

Gauthier leads the flock with 45 points on the season - his second full NHL campaign - but the Ducks will be without injured centre (and second-leading scorer) Leo Carlsson this evening as he recovers from an injury.

Beckett Sennecke, the No.-3 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, sits second among NHL rookie scoring leaders with 15 goals and 38 points, as this young Anaheim group looks to bring playoff hockey back to the O.C. for the first time since 2018.

3. Fast Facts

2025-26 Season Series

Tonight's game is the first of four meetings between Calgary and Anaheim this season, with each side set to host two fixtures.

The Ducks will be back at the Scotiabank Saddledome Mar. 26, while the Flames will pay two visits to the Honda Center Mar. 1 and Apr. 4.

Last season, Calgary collected seven of a possible eight points versus Anaheim, a run that included a pair of 4-1 wins on home ice.

Did You Know?

MacKenzie Weegar blocked five more shots Friday versus Washington, giving him a team-leading 109 on the season - and 618 since joining the Flames prior to the 2022-23 campaign. That total ranks sixth among NHL skaters over the past three-and-a-half seasons.

Weegar has hit triple digits in blocks for the fifth straight season and sixth time overall in his NHL career.

4. East Asian Celebration

Tonight's game marks the Flames' annual East Asian Celebration at the Scotiabank Saddledome, with plenty of activities on tap both in-bowl and on the concourse!

The Jing Wo Lion Dance team is set to perform pre-game and during the second intermission, and before the game, fans can check out both the Yosakoi Soran Calgary Japanese dance performance, and Mo Fan Tai Chi demonstration on the concourse.

Among the other activations this evening, a calligrapher will be set up on-site producing Year of the Fire Horse collectables, while the Coca-Cola Test Kitchen will feature Dragon Wok!

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Morgan Frost

Frost had the Flames' lone marker Friday against Washington - a powerplay snipe off the rush that marked his 10th tally of the campaign.

He also won 57% of his draws against the Capitals, and his four powerplay markers this season rank second on the club.

Frost has put up eight points (4G, 4A) in 10 career contests against the Ducks.

Ducks - Cutter Gauthier

Gauthier's already set a new career best with 45 points this season, and the former No.-5 pick is thriving in sunny Southern California.

In addition to his two points Friday against the Kraken, Gauthier had seven shots on goal, and he comes into tonight's game with three tallies over his last three appearances.

He has two goals and an assist in four career games against Calgary.