5 Things - Flames vs. Jets

1. Canada Week

After spending five nights south of the border, the Flames returned home Sunday afternoon ahead of a three-game stretch against Canadian opposition, beginning with this evening's tilt against the Jets at the Scotiabank Saddledome. CLICK FOR TICKETS

It's the first of two meetings with Winnipeg this week - two fixtures sandwiching a Wednesday home contest versus Montreal - and another challenge for a Calgary squad desperately looking to get back on track.

With the taste of Saturday's defeat in Vegas still in mouths around the dressing room, Jonathan Huberdeau figures it's up to him - and the rest of the leadership group - to set the tone.

"It starts with us. Guys need to follow us, we need to be better," he said after Saturday's game. "We need to look at ourselves in the mirror. Obviously, it’s a quick turnaround, we’re going back home, we’re playing Monday.

"At the end of the day, we can’t whine; we’ve got to come back, play hard, and we’ve got to dig ourselves out of this hole."

For head coach Ryan Huska, tonight's game brings an opportunity to showcase the type of consistency that got this group to 96 points a season ago.

Lessons learned, yes. But with four more games over the next seven days, the urgency to find a way forward is evident.

"For sure, you’ll think about it (the loss), but then you have to turn the page," he said post-game in Vegas. "It’s the consistency that our team has to play with for a full 60 minutes.

"We need to be more committed - I feel like - and more detailed for a full 60 minutes than what we’ve shown this year."

That commitment was a talking point all of last season. A commitment to doing things the right way, to give the team a chance to win, be that through an aggressive fore-check, attention to detail in all three zones, a sense of cohesion that Huberdeau admitted Saturday was lacking in the Golden Knights loss.

And for him, it's almost as though the opponent doesn't matter. Even though tonight's opponent finished with the league's best regular-season record in 2024-25.

"We’re going to play a good team every game, it doesn’t matter for us," Huberdeau said.

"That’s the main focus: come back, play hard, and be a hard team to play against."

2. Know Your Enemy

Mark Scheifele made franchise history Saturday in Winnipeg's 4-1 home-ice win over the Nashville Predators.

His powerplay goal 2:39 into the contest was the 813th point of his NHL career, moving him one ahead of Blake Wheeler for top spot among Jets/Atlanta Thrashers all-time point-getters.

"Obviously, I’m tremendously honoured,” Scheifele told reporters after the game. "I wouldn’t be here without the guys, especially the guy I went ahead of (Wheeler).

"He helped me throughout my career and he also gave me a lot of tap-ins, so I’m very lucky about the guys I play with currently and that I played with in the past, and I owe it all to them."

After falling to the Stars in their season-opener, the Jets have rattled off four straight wins, including identical road triumphs last week over the Flyers and Islanders.

And it's been Schiefele leading the way.

Through five games, he's notched a team-leading six goals and nine points, one point better than sniper Kyle Connor, who became the latest Jets star to pledge his future to Winnipeg earlier this month, putting pen to paper on an eight-year, $96-million extension.

3. Fast Facts

2025-26 Season Series

This evening's game is the first of three regular season meetings between Calgary and Winnipeg, and the first of two to be held at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The two sides will meet again this coming Friday night in Winnipeg before the series finale Nov. 15 at the 'Dome.

Did You Know?

Connor Zary has been logging the miles, both in the air and on the ice.

According to NHL Edge, the league's advanced stats engine, the young forward ranks third among NHL skaters in distance traveled on the ice per 60 minutes, averaging 10.67 miles - or 17.18 kilometres - per 60 minutes of playing time.

New Jersey's Jack Hughes leads the loop at 17.42 km/60, with Anaheim's Leo Carlsson sitting second at 17.27 km/60.

4. Kadri 1Kountdown

It's down to single digits.

This evening, Nazem Kadri will play in his 992nd career NHL game, as he inches ever closer to hitting the 1,000 career appearance mark.

Of his previous 991 regular season outings, 251 have come in a Flames uniform since Kadri signed in the Stampede City in the summer of 2022.

He's projected to become the 13th player in NHL history to contest their 1,000th NHL game in a Flames uniform and second in as many years, after captain Mikael Backlund recorded the achievemnt in October of 2024.

The list of Calgary skaters to make their 1,000th NHL appearance as a member of the Flames is as follows:

Apr. 5, 1987 - Lanny McDonald
Dec. 8, 2001 - Dave Lowry
Oct. 12, 2002 - Craig Berube
Dec. 9, 2003 - Martin Gelinas
Oct. 22, 2007 - Owen Nolan
Feb. 5, 2010 - Jarome Iginla
Feb. 6, 2010 - Daymond Langkow
Oct. 28, 2010 - Craig Conroy
Jan. 1, 2012 - Olli Jokinen
Mar. 21, 2018 - Matt Stajan
Apr. 13, 2021 - Milan Lucic
Oct. 30, 2024 - Mikael Backlund

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Jonathan Huberdeau

It took Huberdeau all of two shifts to make his mark on the scoresheet Saturday night, the veteran forward cashing in on a first-period powerplay during his 2025-26 season debut.

He finished Saturday's contest with five shot attempts (three of them on goal) and a blocked shot after missing the first five games of the regular season.

Huberdeau comes into tonight's contest two points shy of 250 powerplay points for his career.

Jets - Jonathan Toews

The Winnipegger made headlines this summer by not only marking his return to the NHL after a two-year absence, but doing so with his hometown Jets.

And Saturday against Nashville, Toews had his most productive game in his (as yet) short Winnipeg tenure, logging two assists in the Jets' 4-1 win over Nashville.

The future Hall of Famer has three helpers through his first five games with Winnipeg, but he's also been dangerous in the face-off dot, winning 61.3% of his draws.