5 Things - Flames vs. Sabres

1. About Last Night

It's the one silver lining with a fast turnaround - you get a quick do-over.

The Flames fell 4-2 to the Canucks Saturday in Vancouver but are right back on the ice tonight to host the Sabres at 7 p.m (TICKETS).

Rasmus Andersson scored in the second period on the West Coast and Joel Hanley - his first as a Flame - added one late, while Jacob Markstrom returned to the crease and made 22 saves.

Down 2-1 after 40 minutes in a neck-and-neck battle, the Canucks got a powerplay goal from J.T. Miller late in the third at 16:42. Elias Lindholm would get an empty-netter, before Hanley tallied with 17.7 seconds left as the Flames pushed to the final whistle.

“I thought we fought hard to the end," said Nazem Kadri. "Obviously, there were a couple plays in there that kind of decide the game and we'd like back. But we fought hard and gave it a good effort tonight.”

Head coach Ryan Huska echoed those thoughts.

“I thought we played a good road game," said Huska. "We had a poor read on their first goal early in the game. And then I thought after the first five, six minutes, we settled in and played a pretty good road game. Our finish in those situations or those chances wasn't there for us - and they scored on the powerplay and we didn't.”

2. Know Your Enemy

The Sabres finish off their season-long five-game roadie with a stop at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

They are 1-3 so far, with loses to the Red Wings (4-1), the Canucks (3-2) and, most recently, an 8-3 whalloping at the hands of the Oilers on Thursday. Mixed in there was a 6-2 win over the Kraken.

The loss in Edmonton was another blow to their slim playoff hopes.

“I don’t really know what to say about that one, it’s obviously a frustrating loss,” Sabres forward Tage Thompson told NHL.com. “I thought our first and second (periods) were good hockey, you go into the third [in] a tie game, chance to win an important hockey game and they get a couple goals and we’re chasing from behind.

“They get another one and then it feels out of reach, now it’s a lot of frustration I think we let creep into our game there at the end.”

The team hit the ice in Edmonton Saturday to practice before heading to Calgary.

3. Last Time Out With Sabres

These two teams met back on Oct. 19 in Buffalo. The two teams would trade goals in the first with Jonathan Huberdeau and Walker Duehr scoring for the Flames, countered by Erik Johnson and Tage Thompson for Buffalo in a busy opening 20 minutes. There would be no scoring in the second, before Blake Coleman got the scoring in the third started just under two minutes into the final frame. JJ Peterka would once again draw Buffalo level, before Calgary retook the lead for the fourth time of the night. Calgary would hold on for a 4-3 win.

4. Fast Facts

Red Lights Courtesy of Blueliners:

With Rasmus Andersson and Joel Hanley both lighting the lamp in Vancouver last night, the Flames have now gotten 43 goals from defencemen this season. That is tied for the third-most by a defensive-core in the league, with only the Colorado Avalanche (57), and Carolina Hurricanes (45) having more goals from backend. MacKenzie Weegar leads all Flames rearguards with 15 goals, which also rank tied for the fourth-most in goals among defenceman in the league.

Helping Han-ley:

Joel Hanley scored his first goal as a member of the Flames last night in Vancouver. The goal was also Hanley’s first marker of the season, and first since April 29, 2022 against the Anaheim Ducks. Hanley was claimed off waivers by the Flames from Dallas on March 5, 2024.

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Yegor Sharangovich

With a team-leading 28 goals on the campaign, Yegor Sharangovich sits just two tallies away from reaching the 30-goal plateau. With two more goals, Sharangovich can become the sixth player to score at least 30 goals in his first season with the Flames franchise. Only Michael Cammalleri (39 in 2008-09) and Hakan Loob (30 in 1983-84) have done so in the past 40 years. The last player to record as many goals as Sharangovich in their first season with the Flames was Cammalleri, who had 39 tallies for Calgary during the 2008-09 season.

Sabres - Bowen Byram

The talk out of Buffalo after Byram was dealt from the Avalanche to the Sabres on March 7 for forward Casey Mittlestadt was that the blueliner - the fourth-overall pick in 2019 - has been a shot in the arm for the club since arriving. He has three goals and six points in eight games since the trade, and is averaging more than 23 minutes of ice a night.