5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. ISLANDERS

FLAMES (34-25-10: 78 pts.) vs. ISLANDERS (29-29-10: 68 pts.)

1. US

The Flames are coming off an extremely successful road trip, picking up five of a possible six points during their Eastern Conference swing. After dropping their first game in Pittsburgh in overtime, they downed the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 5-1 and closed out the trip with a 2-1 victory in Ottawa on Friday. In the nation's capital, Sam Bennett and Matt Stajan found the back of the net while David Rittich made 29 saves ... Johnny Gaudreau picked up an assist in Ottawa and is now tied with Claude Giroux for second in the league with 57. He trails assist leaders Jakub Voracek and Blake Wheeler by one ... Gaudreau is now tied with Nikita Kucherov for first in the NHL with 45 road points on the year.

2. THEM

While the Islanders have points in their last three games, they have lost eight straight games. Their last win came on Feb. 16 when they downed the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0. Tonight's game is the final stop on their four-game road trip. They have fallen 3-2 in overtime in Pittsburgh, 4-3 in overtime in Vancouver and 2-1 in a shootout in Edmonton ... First-year forward Mathew Barzal leads the team in scoring with 69 points and leads all NHL rookies in scoring. Barzal has been centering Jordan Eberle and Andrew Ladd on the Islanders' second line ... With 68 points on the year, the Islanders are nine points out of a Wildcard spot and 13 points out of third place in the Metropolitan Division.

3. US vs. THEM

This evening's tilt is the second and final meeting between the Flames and Islanders this season. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Islanders surrended three straight goals and the Flames left Brooklyn with a 3-2 victory last month. Mark Jankowksi and Matthew Tkachuk (2) scored twice and Mike Smith stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced that evening. Casey Cizikas and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Islanders.

4. THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

THIS:Mark Giordano has been a workhorse for the Flames, averaging 24:49 of ice time per game. That average ranks him 12th among all NHL skaters. He leads all Flames defencemen with 218:22 of powerplay time and leads all Calgary skaters with 222:23 of short-handed ice time this season. THAT: Mikael Backlund made his NHL debut against the New York Islanders on Jan. 9, 2009. The pivot has played in 530 games in his career, scoring 103 goals and 269 points. THE OTHER:The Flames are 18-3-0-0 when Johnny Gaudreau has two-or-more points in a game, 10-1-0-1 when Matthew Tkachuk sports a multi-point game and 16-2-0-0 when Sean Monahan has two-or-more points.

5. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames: LW Sam Bennett
Bennett came up big for his club in Buffalo and Ottawa, scoring in both wins on the road. In his last two games, the 21-year-old has three points and has put seven shots on net. In 69 games this season, he has 11 goals and 26 points.
Islanders: C Mathew Barzal
The rookie centre has been incredible for the Islanders, who drafted him 16th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. In 68 games, he has 18 goals and leads the club with 69 points. He has been a strong possession player for New York and is third among all Islanders skaters with a 52.67 even-strength Corsi-for percentage.