[SmoggyFlamesFan]

From Calgaryflames.com:


FLAMES (33-14-5: 71 pts) at HURRICANES (25-20-6: 56 pts)

12:00 p.m. | TV: Sportsnet 360 | RADIO: Sportsnet 960 The FAN

Season Series:#1-0-0

All-time:#45-21-7-1

Flames Road Record:#16-10-0

Hurricanes Home Record:#14-8-4

Leading Scorers:

Flames:

Points -Johnny Gaudreau(74)
Goals - Gaudreau (29)

Hurricanes:

Points - Sebastian Aho (58)
Goals - Aho (23)

US

The Flames kicked off their short two-game road swing in Washington on Friday, falling 4-3 to the Capitals. Calgary received goals fromMikael Backlund, Garnet Hathaway andElias Lindholm but Evgeny Kuznetsov's late powerplay tally, with under a minute left in regulation, iced the win for the defending Stanley Cup champions ... Mike Smith got the start in Washington, making 36 saves on 40 shots. The veteran netminder now has a 14-10-1 record this season ... Backlund's goal against the Capitals is a goal of the year candidate: beating three Washington skaters in the neutral zone, deked around a defenceman and ended up softly one-handed the puck around a sprawling Braden Holtby. It's a move that reminds many of his countryman Peter Forsberg's signature move and one that he's used throughout the year. "It was sick," Matthew Tkachuk#marveled after practice on Saturday. "I just got on the ice and he burned the D wide, the D didn't know whether to step up or back off, and he was kind of caught in the middle. Backs beat him wide. We've seen him try that move a couple of times and it's almost gone in ... like, he could have had three of those this year. That one, just the timing of it was pretty sick." ... The Flames will return home on Sunday night and face off against the San Jose Sharks at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday. Following the single-game homestand, they head back out on the road for a lengthy four-game road trip through Vancouver, Tampa Bay, Sunrise, and Pittsburgh.


THEM

Carolina is one of the Eastern Conference's hottest teams, winning 10 of their last 14 games, and are coming off of a big 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. They received goals from five different players in the victory: Nino Niederreiter, Brett Pesce, Jordan Martinook, Sebastian Aho, and Justin Faulk. Goaltender Petr Mrazek made 23 saves on the 25 shots he faced on Friday ... since being acquired by the Hurricanes in a one-for-one trade for Victor Rask, Niederreiter has been a force of nature for Carolina. The Swiss forward is a goal-per-game scorer for his new club, notching five in Hurricanes silks: "You knew he was a good player," head coach Rod Brind'Amour told CarolinaHurricanes.com. "He's fit in extremely well, and contributing the way he is, that makes it a lot better." ... Former Flames Micheal Ferland and Dougie Hamilton have fit in nicely in Raleigh, with Ferland scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 42 skates and Hamilton putting up 8 goals and 19 points in 51 games. Carolina acquired the pair in the trade that sent Elias Lindholm, who has 22 goals and 59 points, and Noah Hanifin, who has 4 goals and 25 points, to Calgary last summer ... Sunday's game wraps up a two-game homestand for the Hurricanes. They'll depart on a five-game road swing on Monday.



US VS. THEM

Sunday's game is the final regular season meeting between the two clubs. The Flames edged the Hurricanes last month at the Scotiabank Saddledome, picking up a 3-2 overtime win on Jan. 22. Rookie Calgary defenceman Oliver Kylingtonopened the scoring, notching his third goal of the year, and Mark Jankowski scored the Flames' second regulation tally. Carolina received markers from Dougie Hamilton and Sebastian Aho, coming in the first and third periods respectively. Mikael Backlund ended the game just 15 seconds into extra time, taking a pass from TJ Brodie in the neutral zone and zipping through the offensive zone, tucking the puck under goaltender Petr Mrazek's pad.




THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

THIS: Elias Lindholm extended his point streak to nine games with a goal in Washington on Friday. Only two players have had a longer point streak in their first year with the Flames: Doug Gilmour (11 games in 1988-89) and Marc Savard (10 games in 1999-2000) ... THAT: Sean Monahan set his career-high for points in a single game against Carolina in February of 2016, notching a goal and three assists in a 4-1 win over the Hurricanes. He also played his 300th NHL game against Carolina on Feb. 26, 2017.THE OTHER: TJ Brodie is one assist away from hitting the 200-mark in his career.



PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Elias Lindholm

The former Hurricane, who was drafted fifth overall by Carolina back in 2013, has already blown past career highs in all offensive categories this year: he has 22 goals, 37 assists and 59 points in 52 games. He's coming off of a one-goal performance against the Capitals on Friday and is riding a nine-game point streak, dating back to Jan. 7.

Hurricanes - Nino Niederreiter

The forward has been on fire for his new club, scoring five goals in his first five games as a member of the Hurricanes. He's put up three goals in his last three games and has fired 13 shots on net during that stretch. In 51 games this year, he has scored 14 goals and 28 points.