CALGARY FLAMES NOTES:
FLAMES LAST GAME RECAP
March 6, 2023 – CALGARY FLAMES [5] at DALLAS STARS [4]
The Calgary Flames began a quick two-game trip in Dallas last night. Calgary would open the scoring with Nick Ritchie netting his first as a Flame, the lone tally of the first. In the second, Troy Stecher would find Nikita Zadorov who one-timed his ninth of the season past Jake Oettinger to extend the Flames lead to 2-0 with Stecher recording his first point as a Flame on the play. Dallas would respond with a pair of goals from Jason Robertson and Max Domi to tie the game at two. Elias Lindholm would restore the Flames lead just before the break with his 18th on the campaign, and the score read 3-2 Flames through 40. In the third, Rasmus Andersson gave the Flames their second two-goal lead with his eighth 4:24 into the final stanza. Roope Hintz would draw Dallas within one, before Dallas captain Jamie Benn leveled the score with just over five minutes left in the period. But just as it looked like the contest was destined for extra time, Jonathan Huberdeau sprung Tyler Toffoli on a breakaway, and the Flames leading scorer buried his 26th with just seven seconds remaining to give the Flames a 5-4 lead. Calgary would close out the remaining seven seconds to get back in the win column.
CGY GOAL SCORERS: Ritchie (8), Zadorov (9), Lindholm (18), Andersson (8), Toffoli (26)
GOALIE: Markstrom (29/33, .879 Sv%)
PP: 0/2 (0%)
PK: 3/4 (75%)
FLAMES LAST FIVE RESULTS, RECORD: 1-3-1
DATE RESULT GWG CGY GOALIE OPP. GOALIE
March 6, 2023 CGY [5] at DAL [4] Toffoli Markstrom Oettinger
March 4, 2023 MIN [3] vs. CGY [0] Eriksson Ek Markstrom Gustavsson
March 2, 2023 TOR [2] vs. CGY [1] Jarnkrok Markstrom Woll
February 28, 2023 BOS [4] at CGY 3 McAvoy Vladar/Markstrom Ullmark
February 25, 2023 CGY [1] at COL [4] Newhook Markstrom Georgiev
*shootout winning goal
FLAMES UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
DATE TIME
(MST) OPPONENT VENUE
March 7, 2023 6:00pm at Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center
March 10, 2023 7:00pm vs. Anaheim Ducks Scotiabank Saddledome
March 12, 2023 7:00pm vs. Ottawa Senators Scotiabank Saddledome
March 14, 2023 8:00pm at Arizona Coyotes Mullett Arena
March 16, 2023 8:00pm at Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS
This is the third and final matchup this season between the Flames and Wild. The Flames fell 3-0 in their last meeting at the Saddledome just three days ago.
This is a Pacific Division versus Central Division matchup; The Flames have an overall record of 8-8-2 against Central Division opponents this season and a record of 17-11-5 against Western Conference opponents.
HALF A WEEEK AGO:
The Calgary Flames finished off a three-game homestand on Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild. Both teams fired eight shots on goal in the first, but it would be Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek who would break the scoreless deadlock, tipping home his 22nd of the season to put the Wild up 1-0 through 20. In the second, the Flames fired 11 shots on goal but couldn’t solve Filip Gustavsson while Jakob Markstrom turned aside all 12 pucks he faced in the middle frame to keep the Flames within one. In the third, Minnesota would score a pair of goals, and Calgary fell 3-0.
BACK-TO-BACKS:
The Flames continue their third last set of back-to-backs this season after knocking-off Dallas 5-4 last night. Calgary’s last back-to-back came on February 22-23 when they earned three of a possible four points with a 6-3 win in Arizona, followed by a 4-3 overtime loss in Vegas. Jakob Pelletier led the Flames through the pair of games with two-consecutive two-point games (2-2 – 4) followed by Mikael Backlund who had two goals and an assist for three points in the pair of contests. Calgary is 2-4-2 in the first half of back-to-backs and 3-2-2 in the second half this season.
DID YOU KNOW?
When scoring four or more goals, the Flames are 20-1-2 during the 2022-23 season. Tyler Toffoli’s game-winner was the second-latest go-ahead goal by a player this season behind New Jersey’s Ryan Graves (59:58 on Feb. 14) and the third latest in Flames franchise history (19:53). Calgary has scored their 20th goal in the game’s first five minutes, tied for the second most in the NHL.
CALGARY FLAMES vs. MINNESOTA WILD
CGY vs. MIN ALL-TIME HOME AWAY L10 STRK
54-30-4-12 30-12-3-5 24-18-1-7 6-3-1 L1
GAME INFO:
Calgary Flames vs. Minnesota Wild
7:00pm CT
Xcel Energy Center
TV: Sportsnet West
Radio: Sportsnet Fan 960
2022-23 Season Series: 1-1-0 (Home: 1-1-0, Road 0-0-0)
Dec. 7, 2022 – MIN [3] at CGY [5]
Mar. 4, 2023 – MIN [3] at CGY [0]
Mar. 7, 2023 – CGY at MIN
2021-22 Season Record vs. MIN: 2-0-1 (Home: 1-0-0, Road: 1-0-1)
Last Home Win vs. MIN: December 7, 2022 – Minnesota [3] vs. Calgary [5]
Last Road Win @ MIN: March 1, 2022 – Calgary [5] at Minnesota [1]
Last Home Loss vs. MIN: March 4, 2023 – Minnesota [3] vs. Calgary [0]
Last Road Loss @ MIN: April 28, 2022 – Calgary [2] at Minnesota 3
2022-23 CALGARY FLAMES
FLAMES RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Mar. 3 – acquired Dryden Hunt (F) from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Radim Zohorna (F)
Mar. 3 – acquired Troy Stecher (D) and Nick Ritchie (F) from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Brett Ritchie (F) and Connor Mackey (D)
FLAMES RECENT INJURIES (Total man games lost – 49)
Noah Hanifin – illness (1 game: Oct. 21)
Chris Tanev – upper-body (5 games: Nov. 3 – Nov. 10)
Jonathan Huberdeau – upper-body (3 games: Nov. 8 – Nov. 12)
Michael Stone – lower-body (11 games: Nov. 7 – Nov. 25)
MacKenzie Weegar – non-COVID illness (1 game: Dec. 12)
Elias Lindholm – upper-body injury (1 game: Dec. 12)
Chris Tanev – upper-body injury (3 games: Dec. 14 – Dec. 18)
Radim Zohorna – non-COVID illness (1 game: Dec. 18)
Dennis Gilbert – lower-body injury (4 games: Dec. 20 – Dec. 27)
Brett Ritchie – upper-body injury (8 games: Jan. 8 – Jan. 26)
Chris Tanev – injury reserve (2 games: Jan. 26 – Jan. 27)
Rasmus Andersson – day-to-day (3 games: Feb. 9 – Feb. 13)
Michael Stone – lower-body injury (6 games: Feb. 22 – Mar. 6)
MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:
SERIES NOTES
GAME BROADCASTS
CALGARY FLAMES
All-Time Wild Record: 42-43-15 (25-16-9 at Xcel Energy Center, 17-27-6 at Calgary)
2022-23: The Wild are 1-1-0 in the season series, falling in the first meeting, 5-3, at Scotiabank Saddledome (12/7) and returning to Calgary for a 3-0 win (3/4)…LW Matt Boldy (1-1=2), C Connor Dewar (0-2=2), C Joel Eriksson Ek (1-1=2), D Jon Merrill (1-1=2) and C Mason Shaw (1-1=2) lead Minnesota with two points each…G Marc-Andre Fleury saved 22-of-26 shots faced for Minnesota in the first meeting…G Filip Gustavsson recorded a shutout in the second game, stopping all 31 shots faced…D Rasmus Andersson (1- 2=3) and C Elias Lindholm (0-3=3) lead Calgary with three points each…C Blake Coleman (1-1=2), C Adam Ruzicka (0-2=2) and RW Tyler Toffoli (2-0=2) all added multi-point performances in the first contest…G Dan Vlader stopped 25-of-28 shots faced for the Flames in the first contest…G Jacob Markstrom saved 30-of-33 shots faced in the second game.
WILD LEADERS: D Jared Spurgeon leads the Wild with 13 points (5-8=13) in 38 games against Calgary…D Alex Goligoski owns 10 assists in 40 contests…LW Marcus Foligno has nine points (7-2=9) in 21 matches…LW Marcus Johansson owns 10 points (3-7=10) in 16 games.
WILD GOALIES: Fleury is 14-6-1 with a 2.13 GAA, a .930 SV% and five shutouts in 22 career starts vs. Calgary…Gustavsson is 3-0-0 with a 1.15 GAA, a .963 SV% and one shutout in four games (three starts).
FLAMES LEADERS: Toffoli leads the Flames with 18 points (9-9=18) in 26 games played against Minnesota …C Mikael Backlund has 17 points (6-11=17) in 38 matches…C Nazem Kadri owns 16 points (8-8=15) in 30 games…Lindholm owns 16 points (5-11=16) in 19 games.
FLAMES GOALIES: Markstrom is 5-3-2 with a 2.59 GAA and a .912 SV% in 10 games (nine starts) vs. the Wild…Vladar is 1-0-0 with a 3.01 GAA and .893 SV% in one start.
FAST FACTS: Minnesota is 15-11-4 in its last 30 games against Calgary… The Wild owns points in 26 of its last 36 games in Saint Paul (19-10-7) and is 14-9-2 in its last 25 games at the Saddledome after starting 3-18-4.
INJURIES
Brandon Duhaime: upper body
Jonas Brodin: lower body
Gustav Nyquist: upper body
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
3/6/23 Signed D David Spacek to a three-year, entry-level contract
3/3/23 Acquired a second-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft and a fifth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for LW Jordan Greenway. Buffalo previously acquired the 2023 second-round selection from the Vegas Golden Knights
3/3/23 Acquired C Oskar Sundqvist from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft
3/3/23 Acquired D John Klingberg from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for D Andrej Sustr, the rights to F Nikita Nesterenko and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Anaheim retained 50% of Klingberg’s salary
3/3/23 Reassigned D Dakota Mermis to Iowa
FINDING THEIR GROOVE
• Minnesota is tied for first in the NHL with 20 points since Feb. 11 (9-1-2).
• The Wild’s current nine-game point streak (8-0-1) is the team’s longest of the season and tied for the eighth-longest in franchise history
• Since Feb. 11, the Wild leads the NHL with a .950 team save percentage and has allowed a league-low 1.42 goals against per game.
LOCK-DOWN DEFENSE
Minnesota has conceded less than two goals in 23 total games this season, second-most in the NHL. The Wild holds a 21-1-1 record when allowing less than two goals.
• In 36 games since Dec. 10, the Wild has posted a 2.22 GA/Gm average, the second-best mark in the NHL during that span.
COOL UNDER PRESSURE
Minnesota has 18 one-goal victories this season, fourth in the NHL behind Los Angeles (20), Vegas (20) and Carolina (19).
• Minnesota is 32-5-5 (.821) this season when obtaining a lead at any point in the game, the fourth-best point percentage in the NHL in such situations.
• Minnesota is 12-1-6 (.789) this season in games that were tied with five minutes left in regulation, tied for the third-most victories and the fourth-best point percentage in the NHL.
HOME SWEET HOME
• Dating back to Nov. 19th, Minnesota is 19-5-1 at home for a .780 point percentage, the fourth-best point percentage in the NHL during that span.
• The Wild holds an active five-game win streak at Xcel Energy Center. The team recorded a seven-game home win streak from Nov. 27 – Dec. 18, the fourth-longest home win streak in the NHL this season.
• In home games since Nov. 19, the Wild has allowed 2.12 goals per game and recorded a .925 save percentage (SV%), ranking second in the NHL in each category.
• Minnesota is tied for fourth in the NHL with 21 home victories this season and ranks tied for sixth with a .667 home point percentage.
ON THE POWER PLAY
• The Wild has converted 28.6 percent (28 of 98) of power-play opportunities at home this season, third-best in the NHL.
• Since Jan. 19, Minnesota ranks tied for fifth in the NHL with 13 powerplay goals. Minnesota is 13-for-58 (22.4%) with the man advantage during that span, ninth-best in the NHL, and has scored a power-play goal in 12 of 20 contests.
PENALTY KILLERS
• Had a streak of 27 consecutive successful penalty kills across 14 total games snapped by allowing a PPG to Vancouver (3/2). Did not allow a power-play goal in 12 consecutive games from 2/8 – 2/28, the longest streak in the NHL this season, tied for the longest streak in franchise
history and tied for the 13th-longest streak in the NHL’s Expansion Era (since 1967-68 season)
• For the season, the Wild is eighth in the NHL with a 82.2 penalty-kill percentage (162 for 197).
• Since Nov. 8, Minnesota is fifth in the NHL with a 84.0 penalty-kill percentage (137 for 163).
• Minnesota is sixth in the NHL with a 82.5 penalty-kill percentage (85 of 103) on the road this season.
SHORT (HANDED) KINGS
• Minnesota is tied for fifth in the NHL with eight shorthanded goals this season.
• The total is tied for the third-highest in franchise history through a season’s first 63 games (10 goals in 2002-03 season; nine SHG in 2000-01; eight in 2002-03, 06-07 seasons)
• Minnesota has not eclipsed eight shorthanded goals in season since recording nine during the 2008-09 campaign.
