5 Things - Flames vs. Rangers

1. Make Hay At Home

It's a rare thing. A full Flames practice inside the Scotiabank Saddledome.

And after tonight's contest against the Rangers, during which Calgary will wrap up their three-game homestand (GET TICKETS), the sight of red sweaters on 'Dome ice will be rarer still.

That's because after this evening's game, the Flames will enter a 19-game run-in to the Holiday Break that features 14 road games, 10 of which will be contested in the Eastern Conference.

For a team feeling pretty good about their home form, it's one last opportunity to keep those good feelings going, ahead of a three-game jaunt to the Golden State that begins Saturday night.

At Tuesday's practice, Calgary had reinforcements among their forward ranks. Sam Honzek skated with the main group for the first time since suffering an injury in early October, while Jonathan Huberdeau shedded the yellow 'non-contact' sweater and was a fuller participant in drills.

"He's getting better, closer, for sure," Huska said of Honzek, who's missed the last 14 games. "When he skates full and in a contact jersey, he is closer. He’s doing the necessary things that he has to do to get back in the lineup.

As for Huberdeau, who underwent hip surgery in February?

"This is his next step, so you'll see him in a bunch of our practices, like full contact now," explained Huska. "And he's continuing to ramp his game up, so it's a real positive sign.

"I think that's a big reason why we had some good energy on the ice today too. Seeing him out there again and getting into battles in different situations where he's fully involved again."

One player who might well slot into the lineup Wednesday after missing time with injury is forward Brennan Othmann. The winger has missed five games with an upper-body injury sustained in Edmonton two weeks ago.

And for Othmann, originally drafted by the Rangers 16th-overall in 2021, the return couldn't come at a better time.

"I’m looking forward to playing against those guys for sure," Othmann said Tuesday. "I think it’s going to be an exciting game for everyone - for myself, too, selfishly - but I think everyone’s looking forward to it."

Othmann was acquired by the Flames at last season's Trade Deadline in a 1-for-1 swap for prospect Jacob Battaglia, and since arriving in Calgary, he's gotten into eight NHL contests, and made an opening-night roster for the first time in his young NHL career.

That doesn't go unnoticed for the 23-year-old, who played 42 contests for the Blueshirts before the trade West last March.

"The goal at the start of the year … was to kind of win the trade, I guess, in a sense, by making the team and proving that I am an NHL player," he explained. "I think I’ve been doing that and I want to keep doing that. Nothing’s guaranteed, I still gotta build currency with the coaching staff, the organization, the players.

"There’s definitely a little fire going into tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to it."

2. Know Your Enemy

The Rangers saw their three-game winning streak draw to a close Monday evening in Edmonton, as they fell 3-1 to the Oilers. Jaroslav Chmelar counted the only goal for the visitors, while Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl scored twice for the homeside, including the game-winner 2:59 into the second period. 

New York outshot their hosts 31-20 on the night, and after the contest Head Coach Mike Sullivan pointed to the goaltending performance from Devon Levi as one of the deciding factors in the defeat.

"I loved our game, I thought we played hard, I thought we competed, I thought we controlled a lot of play, there was so much to like. We generated a lot of scoring chances, we had four or five 2-on-1 opportunities,” Sullivan told NHL.com.. "For whatever reason, it was a struggle to put the puck in the net tonight. Give their goalie credit, he made some big saves.

"It was physical, they defend hard, we were playing hard. From that standpoint, you had to fight for your ice. I thought we did a pretty good job limiting their opportunities. (Connor) McDavid and Draisaitl are two of the very best players in the game and they’re hard to contain. I thought our guys did a really good job competing against that line in particular, and it was one of those nights where you had to fight for every inch out there."

It's been a tale of two cities, so to speak, for the Rangers this season. New York comes to town with just two wins away from home to start the season, while their 8-2-0 record at home is one of the best marks in the NHL.

Adam Fox leads the team with 22 points on the campaign, while Alexis Lafreniere (who had a hat-trick in his last contest versus the Flames) sits top of the crop with nine goals.

New York was dealt a blow early in the season when franchise goalie Igor Shesterkin suffered a season-ending injury, and as a result, rookie Dylan Garand has taken the lion's share of the minutes in goal. Garand has six wins on the year and recorded his first NHL shutout Oct. 2 versus Detroit.

3. Fast Facts

2026-27 Season Series

Tonight's game is the first of two meetings between the Flames and Rangers, with both encounters set to take place in the month of November. Calgary will visit Madison Square Garden Nov. 28 as part of a five-game, Eastern Conference road trip.

The two teams split last year's season set; the Flames scored a 5-1 win on home ice Oct. 26, 2025 before falling 4-0 on the road Mar. 10.

Did You Know?

• Matt Coronato's decider Sunday against the Flyers was the second overtime goal of his NHL career. Coronato also called game in a 3-2 Calgary win at Montreal Nov. 5, 2024, shortly after his late third-period equalizer had secured the Flames a point.
• The Flames have won 62 consecutive games when scoring four or more goals, a run that now stands as the second-longest in NHL history. The longest? That belongs to the New York Rangers, who won 65 straight games during which they lit the lamp four our more times from 2011-2014.
• Joel Farabee has scored in six straight home contests, a run dating back to Calgary's 2-1 win over Minnesota Oct. 22. The winger has accounted for 25% of the Flames' home goals during that span.

4. Saddle Stories

This evening's contest will mark the Rangers' final visit to the Scotiabank Saddledome, but what about their first?

You have to go back to Feb. 2, 1984, when the Patrick Division-leading Blueshirts visited the Saddle for the first time.

And on that occasion, the Flames were less than hospitable hosts. Lanny McDonald opened the scoring on a powerplay 6:57 into the game, adding a second five minutes later as Calgary took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission. 

The onslaught continued into period two. Dan Quinn, Colin Patterson and Eddy Beers pushed the lead to 6-1 after 40 minutes before Beers and Kent Nilsson rounded out the scoring in period three, helping the Flames cruise to an 8-1 win on the strength of 37 saves from Rejean Lemelin.

The game featured two bitter rivals behind the two benches, too. Calgary coach Bob Johnson and Rangers bench boss Herb Brooks had gone up against each other on the regular in the college ranks at Wisconsin and Minnesota, respectively, and the Flames win was Johnson's first against Brooks in six NHL tries.

"The streak is nine now (Calgary had stretched its unbeaten run to nine games with the win)," Johnson told the Calgary Herald. "Our job now is to make it 10."

"I'm not thinking about tonight. That game's over."

5. Players To Watch