5 THINGS - FLAMES @ WILD

FLAMES (20-10-2) at WILD (17-12-2)

US

The Flames are coming off a wild, 6-5 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday that will stand as one of the most thrilling comebacks in franchise history. Down 5-3 with 1:08 to play in regulation, Rasmus Andersson scored his first NHL goal to narrow the Flyers' lead to one, before leading goal-getter Sean Monahan evened the score with only seven seconds on the clock. Johnny Gaudreauthen swatted home a loose puck early in OT, giving the Flames their 20th win of the campaign and sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division. … It was the third time in franchise history where the Flames have overcome a multi-goal deficit in the final two minutes of a game to win in any fashion, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins as the only two teams to ever accomplish that feat. The Flames had 1-0 and 2-1 leads, courtesy of Sam Bennett and Mark Giordano, but surrendered three unanswered goals early in the second period to fall behind 4-2. Monahan made it a one-goal game late in the middle frame, before Sean Couturier restored the Flyers' two-goal cushion with 8:49 left in the third. Then, Calgary's patented third-period magic took over. … Mike Smith exited the game with an undisclosed injury after 40 minutes of work. David Rittich tagged in and made four stops the rest of the way to earn the victory. … Smith is travelling on this three-game road swing, and is expected to play at some point, but will not be in the lineup against the Wild. Jon Gillies has been recalled from AHL Stockton and will back up Rittich in Minnesota. … The Flames are 7-2-1 in their last 10, 10-2-1 in their last 13, and have won three of their last four road games.

THEM

The Wild have bounced back after losing 2-0 and 7-2 to the Flames and Edmonton Oilers on back-to-back nights one week ago. They're 2-0 on their current four-game homestand, beating the Montreal Canadiens 7-1, and following that up with a 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday. … Minnesota Captain Mikko Koivu, who left last Thursday's tilt with a lower-body injury after colliding with Mark Giordano, avoided long-term injury and will be a game-time decision on Saturday after missing the past three games. "When you see plays like that, usually bad things happen," Koivu told Sarah McLellan of the Minnesota Star Tribune. "It's good that we're here right now and getting closer to get back to the game. So I think that's in the past now and just looking forward to getting better and getting stronger and hopefully getting into the lineup as quick as possible." Koivu added that Giordano texted him following the incident to apologize: "A classy move by him," Koivu said. … In the skipper's absence, the newly formed top line of Zach Parise, Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle have combined for 11 points (6G, 5A) in two games, including Niederreiter's three-point effort against the Panthers. … The Wild are currently one point of out a wild-card playoff spot, with two games at hand on the Vegas Golden Knights.

US VS. THEM

This is the second of three meetings between these two clubs. They will close out the season series on Mar. 2 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. … In their first encounter just last week, Elias Lindholm scored twice and Mike Smith made 31 saves as the Flames earned a hard-fought 2-0 victory. … Mikael Backlund left that contest late in the third period after being hit by Wild defenceman Matt Dumba in open ice. Backlund has not played since, but was back on the ice and was a full participant - albeit, as a defenceman - in Friday's practice. "He's had a lot of testing over the last couple of days and everything has been real positive," said head coach Bill Peters, adding that Backlund - along with injured goalie Mike Smith - will travel on this three-game venture.

THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

THIS: The Flames have five players with more than 30 points this season (Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm and Mark Giordano). No other team has more than three. THAT: Giordano scored a beautiful shorthanded goal on Wednesday against the Flyers, giving him 32 points (4G, 28) on the year - tied for third among defencemen - including 10 on the powerplay. The 36-year-old is averaging 24:30 of ice time per game, and continues to get praise for a possible Norris nomination because of it. THE OTHER: The Flames are fourth league-wide in goal differential at +23. Their 113 Goals For are third best, trailing only the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning (+43) and their Atlantic Division counterparts, the Toronto Maple Leafs (+25).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Sean Monahan
Monahan's goal late in the third period of Wednesday's victory was his 20th of the season. He's one of only eight players to achieve that mark so far this year. Monahan, who's now only 11 off his career high of 31 with more than half the campaign to play, joins Nathan MacKinnon, Joe Pavelski, David Pastrnak, Brayden Point, Patrik Laine and Jeff Skinner, and is only five off the current Rocket Richard leader, Alex Ovechkin.
Wild - Matt Dumba
Dumba, 24, leads the NHL in goals among defencemen with 12, powerplay goals with six, and is now 12th in overall scoring with 22 points. The Calgary native had a career-best point streak come to an end after seven games (5G, 5A) back on Nov. 29, setting a new franchise record for the longest point streak in Wild history. Dumba set a new career high with 14 goals and 50 points last year, but is well on his way to setting a new personal best thie season.