'THEY'RE THE FUN GAMES'

WINNIPEG - The frosty temperatures and ample blowing snow that greeted the Flames in the Manitoba capital early Wednesday morning amid a local storm made it look - and physically feel - like your average mid-winter trip for a regular-season tilt.
Arriving around 1:30 a.m. local time after hopping on a plane right after their 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks at the Scotiabank Saddledome, one player quipped after walking across the tarmac to the waiting busses: "What is this? It's April."
April indeed - and anything but just another regular-season tilt.

While the last few weeks have been a straight run of 'must-win' games, tonight's outing is pivotal: a head-to-head against the team you're chasing for the final playoff berth and trail by two points coming in.
Far from just a regular-season game, one with tonson the line. Hard to draw up a more compelling script.
Nights like this sure don't come around often.
"For sure," agreed Mikael Backlund, who's played in many important tilts during his time wearing the Flaming 'C'. "One of the bigger regular-season games of my career with the Flames.
"You know, there's not another game that kind of pops up (in my memory). There's always been times we can clinch a playoff spot or even chasing, but to play head-to-head with the team that you're chasing, I don't know if we've ever done that. In the COVID season, we played Montreal, two or three times at home, we were chasing them, but I think we were six points behind or something like that. So we (weren't) as close. So, yeah, definitely it's one game and it's not three games against someone ... it's definitely one of the bigger games in the regular season for sure."

As a professional athlete, this is when the cream can rise to the top. Sure, there's a lot of pressure with a contest such as this - that kind of goes without saying - but, on the other hand, it's a massive opportunity to shine as team, and individually.
Growing up, youngsters dream about playing in big games, usually with visions of hoisting Lord Stanley's chalice if they win. But before you do that, you have to get to the dance and that's what tonight is all about as Calgary continues to push for a postseason berth.
"Yeah, it's great," said Milan Lucic with a broad grin. "You know, it kind of reminds you of that little kid inside you, the reason why you play this game and the reason why you love this game. But, you know, as big as the moment it is and as exciting it is, you can't you can't let the moment get too big, you kind of have to calm yourself down and do what you got to do to play well and , like I said, just go have fun with it."

Fun - that's the key word, as it always is.
Yes, it's about wins and achieving the clearly defined goal they have in mind to keep skating after Game No. 82 but embracing the moment - and enjoying it - will be key when they hit the ice at Canada Life Centre.
"These are the games you want to be a part of, they're the fun games and you don't want to let it get too big and too jacked up, you just want to go in and play your game and and execute - just do what you can," said blueliner Noah Hanifin, who has been a force down the stretch and notched a goal and helper against the Blackhawks. "But these are always real fun games to be a part of, there's going to really be a lot of emotion in the game and, like I said, it's a fun building to play. And so I think we're all pretty excited."
And that extends to the bench as well, said Associate Coach Kirk Muller.
"Well, it's fun for coaches," he said. "(But) at the end of the day, it's about the players. It's their time and their opportunity. Like we said, it's games like this you want to sit there and say someone has a great opportunity to come up with a big game or a big play, or a big goal and everything. But, obviously, it's collectively that we've got to win tonight. But, you know, and it's fun to just see the players go out and get ready for these type of games.
"Like I say, this is what it's all about. It's exciting. And this is one of the games you want to play in."