5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. JETS

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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Getting Fired Back Up
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'Going to Be a Tough Test'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2019-20 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (23)
Goals - Andrew Mangiapane (15)
Jets:
Points - Kyle Connor (22)
Goals - Connor (12)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 24.6% (6th) / PK - 87.7% (4th)
Jets:
PP -19.6% (13th) / PK - 67.9% (30th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 53.98% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 53.18% (8th)
Jets:
Shot Attempts: 52.74% (6th)
High-Danger Chances: 51.78% (15th)

1. SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT

Back to work!
After enjoying a much-needed three-day break following Tuesday's 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, the Flames are back and all business as they look to extend their winning streak to five.
The last outing at the Scotiabank Saddledome completed a crazy stretch which saw the Flames play nine games in 15 days.
That's a lot of hockey.
"It was very nice after our busy schedule to have a few days to kinda just re-group and get the mind right again," said Matthew Tkachuk. "It was time for a reset after all the travel. As much as you want to play, play, play, everyone needed that.
"We can come back, have two games at home to take care of business and focus on a few games, which is nice, instead of thinking about a big seven-game road trip. We just have to focus on this one and move on from there. It's nice how there's only two games in how many days and focus on those.
"There's no excuse for us to not be ready with a few days off. We've just got to make sure we pick up right where we left off."
They're well rested and re-charged for what should be a great battle, as they welcome the Winnipeg Jets to the 'Dome for the first of three meetings this season.
And what a roll the Flames are on headed into the tilt, with a current point streak of seven games thanks to a 5-0-2 record dating back to Nov. 12.
When you're hot like that, there's a lot to feel good about.
Not only do the Flames sit atop the Pacific Division standings, they're also one of the top teams in the league, sitting firmly in the Top 5 and just two points out of first overall.
"Our foundation is making it very difficult for teams to get any opportunities," said Erik Gudbranson. "It frustrates them and eventually changes their game into our favour. We've done a lot of good things keeping the puck out of our net, our goaltenders have been especially good.
"We do it by committee; we do it as a group."

2. KNOW YOUR ENEMY

The Jets head into the clash following a tough 7-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday, which extended their season-long losing streak to five games.
Goals have been hard to come by for Winnipeg, with a scant five scored during the skid, and their last victory coming back on Nov. 16 when they handed the Oilers a 5-2 loss.
In addition, their last three games have seen them only muster two goals while allowing 13.
"Maybe that's the mental part where we got frustrated a little bit, thinking, 'Oh, it's not gonna be our night,' instead of thinking, 'Oh, let's turn it around," centre Paul Stastny told Mitchell Clinton of WinnipegJets.com. "You're going to go through skids. Whether you're losing close games or blowout games, sometimes it's better to lose a blow out game to kind of wake everyone up and knock some sense into everyone.
"Nothing comes easy in this league. Nothing comes easy in life and you learn from it, you constantly go through struggles like this and ups and downs and kind of grow out of it and get better from it."

3. FAST FACTS

HOT STARTERS: The Flames have scored the game's first goal an NHL-leading 16 times and with Tuesday's win over the Blackhawks, improved to 12-1-3 when doing so. Calgary has outscored its opponents 24-9 in the opening frame and have out-shot their opposition 229-183... The Flames are 11-1-1 when taking the lead into the first intermission and 10-0-1 when leading after two periods of play.
20-20 VISION: Here's how the 2021-22 Flames rank all-time in franchise history through the opening quarter a season:
Goals Against - 28 (1st)
Regulation Losses - 3 (2nd only to 2 in 2001-02)
Goal Differential - +30 (3rd only to +37 in 1988-89 & +31 in 1978-79)
DID YOU KNOW?Johnny Gaudreau has 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 24 games against the Jets in his career. ... Elias Lindholm led all Flames players last season with three goals and six assist for nine points in nine meetings against Winnipeg.

4. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Matthew Tkachuk
With the game-winning goal vs. the Blackhawks on Tuesday, Tkachuk now has six points (2G, 4A) in his last four games. Already up to 18 points on the season, his nine goals, tied for second on the team, have him well on track to surpass his goal total of 16 from last year.
Jets - Kyle Connor
The top-point getter for the Jets has been on a roll with 22 points in 20 games at the quarter point of the season. Connor racked up 11 points in nine tilts against the Flames last season.

5. QUOTABLE

Erik Gudbranson on the role the veterans have played to start the season:
"There's a lot of experience on this team. We throw that word around and never really explain what it means - but that kind of is what it means. In those situations, you've been in those situations before where you know how to handle them. Having such a large collection of guys that have that experience - especially deep in the playoffs - those are moments where potentially a young guy could be a bit nervous or a bit skittish around those. Whereas this group is like, 'OK, I know what to do here,' or, 'We know what to do here.' You don't have to talk about it. They've been in those situations and know how to get out of them. Whether it's the next shift or the next game, at some point they're going to break through and that's added a lot of confidence in this group."
>> Read more on Gudbranson's comments, and how experience and 'veteran savvy' are making all the difference for this team