5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. SENATORS

FLAMES (45-21-7; 97 PTS) vs. OTTAWA SENATORS (25-42-6; 56 PTS)

US

The Flames are coming off a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday to extend their home winning streak to four. Johnny Gaudreau drew first blood for the homeside with his team-leading 35th goal of the season, Andrew Mangiapane, Michael Frolik and Matthew Tkachuk (empty netter) rounded out the offence, and David Rittich made 31 saves in the victory. Austin Czarnik - who played in his 100th career game on Mar. 10 - recorded the first multi-point effort of his NHL career with a pair of first-period helpers. The victory moved the Flames' record to 45-21-7, and gave them a three-point cushion on the San Jose Sharks in the division title race. "I really liked the composure on the bench and some of the communication the guys were having," said head coach Bill Peters. "Just talking about it, this is the way it's going to be. It isn't always going to be free and easy; it isn't always going to be smooth. It was a bit of a grind tonight, but I thought the guys did a good job staying with it." … The Flames will have Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett back in the lineup tonight after missing the past two games due to injury… James Neal was also a full participant during Wednesday's half-hour-long workout, and is close to returning after missing 17 games with an upper-body injury. He will not play tonight, but could be an option on Saturday when the Flames travel to Vancouver to face the Canucks. Neal skated on the 'fifth line' with Alan Quine and Curtis Lazar during practice. … Mike Smith will get the start in goal.

THEM

Facing a 5-0, third-period deficit, the Senators mounted one heckuva comeback effort, but ultimately fell 7-4 to the Vancouver Canucks last night at Rogers Arena. Max Veronneau tallied his first NHL goal, while Brady Tkachuk, Oscar Lindberg and Anthony Duclairalso found the back of the net in the final frame, but the hole was too deep and the visitors ran out of race track after making it a one-goal game with 1:59 to play. "It speaks to our character," defenceman Dylan DeMelo - who had three assists - told Kevin Woodley of NHL.com. "We could have easily rolled over. It would have been some comeback if we could have pulled it off." Goaltender Anders Nilsson (13-18-1) made his third straight start for the Sens, making 33 stops in a losing cause. Nilsson was 3-1-0 in his previous four, with a sparkling .948 save percentage and a 1.77 goals against average in games against the Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs last week. Thirty-seven-year-old Craig Anderson - who's suffered a loss in each of his last 13 decisions - could get the start tonight. In that span dating back to Dec. 21, Anderson has allowed fewer than three goals only three times. … The Sens are now 3-7-1 since trading Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingelat the trade deadline. … Interim coach Marc Crawford confirmed that injured defenceman Thomas Chabot - who was week-to-week with a broken toe - will join the team here in Calgary, and could return to the Sens' lineup on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. Centre Colin White (neck) did not make the trip out west and will not be available tonight, either. There is currently no timeline for his recovery. … The Senators are last in the NHL with only 56 points in 73 games, and are the only team with fewer than 10 road wins, amassing an astonishing 28 defeats in only 37 tilts away from the Canadian Tire Centre.

US VS. THEM

The Flames took a 2-1 decision in the only other meeting of the season on Feb. 24 in Ottawa. Austin Czarnik scored the winning goal with only 41 seconds left in the third period, while David Rittich made 22 saves in the victory. Mikael Backlund had Calgary's other goal, while Matthew Tkachuk's younger brother Brady replied for the homeside. … The Flames have won four of the last five meetings.

THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

THIS: Mark Giordano will move into second place on the franchise games list tonight when he suits up for his 827th career contest as a member of the Flames. In addition, with his assist on Tuesday, Giordano passed Paul Reinhartfor third all-time in franchise points among defencemen with the 446th of his career. The 35-year-old now trails Gary Suter(564) for second. ... THAT: Matthew Tkachuk scored his 33rd goal of the season in Tuesday's victory, padding an already impressive campaign in which the 21-year-old is clipping along at more than a point-per-game rate. Tkachuk now has the fourth-most goals in franchise history in a single season by a player 21 or younger. Most of the damage has been done on home ice, with 25 of his 33 goals coming at the Scotiabank Saddledome. No one, league-wide, has more on their home sheet this year. ... THE OTHER: On the topic of home cookin', Johnny Gaudreau has been on a tear at the 'Dome recently, scoring 42 points (16G, 26A) in his last 27 games in the friendly confines.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Mark Jankowski
Jankowski centered a line with Andrew Mangiapane and Austin Czarnik in Tuesday's victory over the Blue Jackets. The trio accounted for four points and produced more than twice the number of scoring chances (9-4) when they were on the ice at even strength. Jankowski, himself, made a lovely pass on Mangiapane's first-period marker, drawing four defenders to one side before dishing it off and giving his linemate all kinds of time to bury on the backhand. Jankowski finished the night with two shots and 15:39 of ice time (the most he's played since Feb. 14).
Senators - Max Veronneau
The undrafted college free agent signed a two-year entry level contract with his hometown Sens back on Mar. 12 after putting the finishing touches on a prolific career with Princeton University of the NCAA. The six-foot, 180 lb. winger had 52 goals and 144 points in 130 career games with Princeton, and in his first three games in the NHL, he has one goal and one assist.