5 Things - Flames vs. Wild

1. Back In Black

Plainly put, it's good to be home.

And after turning out the lights for a night of rest - following a long travel day home from Nashville Wednesday - the Flames are ready to go into Dark Mode.

That's right, tonight's contest against the Wild will mark Blasty's 2025-26 debut, on a night the Flames salute our military on Canadian Armed Forces Appreciation Night. GET TICKETS

But if it feels like the team hasn't spent a lot of time at the Scotiabank Saddledome, it's true.

Calgary's 10 home games played this season are the fewest in the NHL, while their 18 road games contested are a league-high.

But that's all about to change. After playing the last eight games in eight different cities, the Flames get a nice run of four home fixtures beginning tonight against the Wild, in a game that offers another challenge, as well as the chance to play in front of a partisan crowd for only the second time in the last 19 days.

The recent road swing netted five points - as well as a whack of kilometres in the sky - and after an inauspicious end to the trip in the Music City Tuesday night, the focus is on making these home games count.

"(We have to) mentally prepare for Minnesota on Thursday," captain Mikael Backlund offered following Tuesday's 5-1 loss. "Have a good homestand, and go from there."

Even though it's been awhile, the home fires have burned brightly for the Flames in recent outings at the 'Dome. Calgary has collected points in six of their last seven home games, collecting seven of a possible 10 points inside the friendly confines last month.

Take advantage of home-ice advantage, so to speak.

And that's exactly how Head Coach Ryan Huska would like to see his group bounce back tonight.

"It’s something we have to do a good job of, is take care of the time we get to spend at home, here, over the next little while," he said Tuesday evening.

"Turn the page, and make sure we’re much better against Minnesota."

CLICK HERE FOR THE PROJECTED LINEUP

2. Know Your Enemy

The Wild are on an impressive run, to say the least, boasting a 12-1-2 record over their last 15 games since a 5-2 win over the Canucks Nov. 1.

Five of those dozen wins have come via the shutout, including a 1-0 triumph over the Oilers at Rogers Place Tuesday evening. Jonas Brodin scored the lone goal of the game 13:11 into the first period, and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt put up his league-leading fourth shutout performance of the season, making 33 saves.

"This is pretty fun. We’re playing great," Wallstedt told reporters after the contest. "The way we defend and our structure in our D-zone right now, the way guys sacrifice themselves, it’s a team effort, and the way we’ve been playing in our own zone especially has been nothing else but spectacular."

"It’s fun. I’ve never played like this before, I don’t think."

Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy sit 1-2 in team scoring with 31 and 29 points, respectively; Kaprizov's 17 goals are two better than the 15 Boldy has collected this season, too.

Defenceman Zeev Buium is second among rookie defencemen with 12 points, eight of which have been earned on the powerplay.

Tonight's game marks the second in a four-game, Pacific Division road swing for Minnesota. They'll visit Vancouver Saturday night before taking on the Kraken in Seattle on Monday.

3. Fast Facts

2025-26 Season Series

Tonight's game marks the second of three meetings this season between the Flames and Wild, but it's the only one of the three slated for the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Minnesota won the series opener 2-0 Nov. 9 - Matt Boldy had the decider in that contest - and the two sides will meet again in Saint Paul Jan. 29.

Killer Instinct

The Flames penalty-kill is rocketing up the charts.

Calgary has successfully killed off 10 consecutive short-handed situations - a run of four straight games - and their net penalty-kill percentage of 110% is top of the crop in the NHL (the extra 10% courtesy of a short-handed goal off the stick of Joel Farabee Nov. 26).

Taking it back further, the Flames have operated at a 96% penalty-kill efficiency since Nov. 16, that, too, leads the League.

Did You Know?

Defenceman Kevin Bahl dressed in his 100th game as a Flame Tuesday in Nashville.

Since joining the Flames via trade, Bahl has put up six goals, 26 points and countless stick checks, and his +9 rating this season leads the team.

In fact, Bahl has recorded more than half of his career points in Calgary silks, despite playing 148 of his 248 NHL games with the New Jersey Devils.

The 25-year-old blueliner signed a six-year contract extension with the Flames this past June.

4. Blasty's Back!

He's out of the stable and onto Scotiabank Saddledome ice!

The Flames will wear their black, Blasty uniforms on six occasions this season beginning with tonight's contest against the Wild.

Fans can also expect to see them on the following dates:

• Saturday, Dec. 6 vs. Utah
• Monday, Dec. 8 vs. Buffalo
• Tuesday, March 3 vs. Dallas
• Thursday, March 5 vs. Ottawa
• Saturday, March 7 vs. Carolina

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Dustin Wolf

Head Coach Ryan Huska said Tuesday morning he anticipates Wolf to make the go in goal this evening, after Devin Cooley got a run of three consecutive starts.

Wolf came on in relief against the Predators and over his 20 minutes of work, he turned aside 11 of the 12 shots he faced.

The 24-year-old sits second among NHL goaltenders with 21 appearances this season, trailing the Rangers' Igor Shesterkin by one.

Wild - Jesper Wallstedt

He's earned the nickname of 'The Wall of Saint Paul,' and brick by brick, the reigning NHL Rookie of the Month has been piling up saves for Minnesota.

In 10 games with the Wild this year, he's gone 8-0-2, and he leads the League with a 1.74 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.

Wallstedt, who hails from the same hometown as Flames captain Mikael Backlund and once upon a time, was selected by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the CHL Import Draft, is coming off a 33-save clean sheet Tuesday night in Edmonton.