5 Things - Flames @ Maple Leafs 28.10.25

1. The Dam Burst

It was all about patience and persistance.

The Flames had the chances but were struggling to bury.

They said it was about to sticking to the game plan, getting to the net, and starting to find the twine.

It paid off Sunday night.

The Flames - stuck in a slump and struggling to score - broke out, tallying five goals in a 5-1 defeat of the visiting Rangers.

Click here for game story

Now it's all about building on that as they embark on this four-game road trip, sights set firmly on piling up some wins and digging out of the early season hole they found themselves in.

“It feels good to get a win,” said Blake Coleman, who tallied twice against the Rangers, after the win. “Doesn’t mean much if we can’t build on it, but it feels good.”

2. Know Your Enemy

The Leafs halted a three-game slump with a 4-3 overtime win against the Sabres in their last outing on Saturday.

John Tavares splayed the hero for Toronto, scoring his 499th career tally 1:28 into extra time at home, just a day after the Leafs were beaten by the Sabres 5-3 in Buffalo.

Nicolas Robertson, Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua also scored for the Leafs, who are now 4-4-1 on the season - including 4-2-1 at the friendly confines of Scotiabank Arena.

Toronto was without forward William Nylander Saturday, their leading scorer with three goals and 14 points in seven games, who suffered a lower-body injury in the loss to Buffalo. It's unknown if he will suit up tonight against the Flames but he did practice with the team Monday.

Cayden Primeau made 23 saves in the win to improve to 2-0 on the campaign, backed up by Dennis Hildeby who was called up from the AHL's Toronto Marlies to give Anthony Stolarz a night off.

Stolarz is 2-4-1, has played the majority of minutes for the Leafs this season with Joseph Woll away from the team since Sept. 23 due to personal reasons. Woll returned to practice Monday with the Leafs but isn't elibile to play until Nov. 1 at the earliest.

Also notable the Leafs are without former Flame Chris Tanev and forward Scott Laughton, both sidelined due to injuries and not expected to return soon, while another former Flame, Calle Jarnkrok, is day-to-day with an injury.

Tonight, though, Toronto - like the Flames - will look for their second straight win and try to build some momentum and climb the Eastern Conference standings.

“Gritty win is kind of how I look at it," Toronto coach Craig Berube told NHL.com after the win over Buffalo. "The difference for me tonight is we were better defending the odd-man rushes. … We were above things all night. It was a low-event game. You play teams like that, you have to make sure you are not giving those freebies up and we didn’t do that.

"Our guys played hard. I liked the jam they played with, physical, couple nice hits, a little bit (ticked) off.”

3. Fast Facts

2024-25 Season Series:

This is the first of two meetings this season between the Flames and Maple Leafs, with Toronto winning both outings between the clubs last year.

Matt Coronato, Yegor Sharangovich and Joel Farabee scored in a 6-3 loss on Feb. 4 at the Scotiabank Saddledome, while Rasmus Andersson and Kevin Bahl tallied on March 17 in a 6-2 loss in Toronto. Tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, the Leafs scored four goals in the middle stanza in that one to pull away.

Razzle Dazzle:

Speaking of Rasmus, he enters play tonight with two goals on the season, and 49 in his NHL career. With one more tally, Andersson can become the eighth defenceman in Flames franchise history with 50 or more goals, and tie Phil Housley (50).

4. Did You Know?

Dustin Wolf has recorded 39 wins in 78 career NHL starts and is looking to become the third goaltender in Flames history to reach 40 victories in 80 starts or fewer, joining David Rittich (67 GS) and Mike Vernon (68 GS). Wolf turned aside 30 of 31 shots on Sunday against New York and has posted a .922 save percentage along with 2.34 goals-against average over his last three outings.

- Stick tap to Flames PR's Jordan Bay for this tidbit

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Blake Coleman

The Texas Tiger scored a pair in the win over the Rangers and leads the Flames with five tallies this season. Fun fact: His first goal came shorthanded, the 19th such of his career which is fifth-most among active NHL players behind Brad Marchand (36), Jordan Staal (21), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (21), and Sebastian Aho (20).

Click here for more on Coleman's scoring

Maple Leafs - Auston Matthews

The Leafs captain has nine goals and 18 points in his last 10 games against the Flames, including a pair or goals and a helper the last time the clubs met on St. Patrick's Day in Toronto last season.

So far this campaign, he has five goals and eight points in nine games.