Add Noah Hanifin to the list of Flames players who are having career seasons. Over the last 10 games, the 25-year-old blueliner has two goals and 13 assists on the team’s top pairing with Rasmus Andersson.
POINTS LEADERS
FLAMES
Johnny Gaudreau — 73 GP, 34 G, 67 A, 101 PTS, +56
Matthew Tkachuk — 73 GP, 37 G, 55 A, 92 PTS +49
Elias Lindholm — 73 GP, 38 G, 36 A, 74 PTS, +53
GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Jonathan Marchessault — 68 GP, 28 G, 32 A, 60 PTS, +4
Chandler Stephenson — 71 GP, 17 G, 40 A, 57 PTS, +3
Shea Theodore — 70 GP, 13 G, 31 A, 44 PTS, +5
It’s the final regular season meeting between these clubs and, historically, the Golden Knights have had the Flames’ number. Calgary has just a 4-9 record since Vegas came into the league in 2017, including a string of four consecutive losses before a 6-0 blanking on Feb. 9 at home.
Going forward, though, the Golden Knights are seeing more key players return from injury. The most recent is captain Mark Stone, who suited up in Vancouver after missing 26 games due to a back injury.
"We got eight games left, but I've never stepped foot on the ice in the same uniform as Jack Eichel," said Stone, whose return could ignite a power play that has been skunked in seven consecutive games. "So I think we're still reading off each other, but it will come."
The Flames can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Vegas after extending their winning streak to five games Tuesday with a 5-3 comeback victory over the Seattle Kraken. They trailed 3-1 heading into the third period, but Johnny Gaudreau collected a pair of assists to reach the 100-point mark for the first time in his career -- becoming the first for Calgary since Theo Fleury in 1992-93.
It makes sense that the two will need time to get into a rhythm, but the Knights don’t have much. They remain out of a playoff spot, and their next two games — Thursday in Calgary and Saturday in Edmonton — could have a huge impact on their postseason chances.
Any production they get from Pacioretty and Stone — who rank first (0.968) and second (0.966) on the team in points per game — would be massive.
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Last edited by Cheese; 04-14-2022 at 07:51 AM.
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This is an absolute must win for Vegas and their $100 million payroll. They're gonna be hungry. Hopefully the Flames are ready to bring their A game tonight, because they're gonna need it.
Ya, there are too many scenarios to process in terms of playoff seeding, matchups, and best fits. I'd love to see Oil face VGK in 1st round, but at the same time VGK missing out is a sweet consolation prize.
Maybe an OTL for the Flames is best? Keeps oilers at bay while throwing a little choas into the Pacific and WC races
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The Flames could be doing themselves a big favor in the long run by hurting Vegas' playoff chances tonight. Hoping for much better effort than the the Kraken game, regardless of that 3rd period.
Nice to see Hanifin starting to get some recognition.
Both he and Andersson are top 10 among dmen for points since March 1.
Such a solid defender and on a terrific contract.
He has a bit of a Bouwmeester effect because he plays so smart and smooth that he doesn’t really stand out. Few mistakes, strong skater. What a trade and follow up contract!
Yeah the Kings dont see another playoff team the rest of the year....so i think they could hang on for a WC perhaps. They would likely need to go 5-1 at worst though.
It just feels more that Vegas catches the Kings for 3rd and the Flames end up with Dallas or Nashville....which is just fine too.
LAS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS AT CALGARY FLAMES 7:00pm TV: SN360 - RADIO SN960
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