1. Ready To Reset

Sometimes, a change of scenery is all you need.

On Saturday, the Flames dropped a 5-3 decision to the visiting Jets in a thrilling back-and-forth tilt. The matchup saw the Flames go toe-to-toe with the NHL’s top club, trading goals until a late Jets powerplay marker gave the visitors the edge and an empty-net goal iced the victory for Winnipeg. The loss marked the team’s second straight setback – the first time they’ve dropped back-to-back games this season, with both coming on home ice.

“I think we were better or outplayed them in big moments 5-on-5,” said Rasmus Andersson, who scored his fourth goal of the season on Saturday. “5-on-5, I thought we were the better team, honestly, and it was just too many penalties. Yeah, frustrating. Frustrating for sure.”

The Flames now hold a 5-2-1 record, sitting third in the Pacific Division with 11 points, two points back of the division-leading Golden Knights.

Monday’s matchup could be just what they need to get back into the win column and get the club back into the rhythm that saw them set a franchise record with a 5-0-1 start to the 2024-25 campaign.

Last year’s season series against the Golden Knights was tilted heavily in Calgary’s favour, with the Flames putting up a 3-0-1 record and outscoring their foes 13-8 in the process.

Blake Coleman was superb against Vegas in 2023-24, scoring three goals and registering five points in the four outings. Nazem Kadri also provided plenty of offence last season, scoring a pair of goals and ending up with five points as well. Yegor Sharangovich, who made his season debut on Saturday, was tied for the goal scoring lead against the Golden Knights last year with three.

Dan Vladar and Dustin Wolf have each logged one victory against Vegas in their careers, both coming last season. Wolf made 28 saves in a 4-1 win at the Scotiabank Saddledome in March and Vladar’s 27-save performance came in a 2-1 overtime victory last October in Calgary.

Game time is set for 8 p.m. MT with Sportsnet West carrying the TV broadcast.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Golden Knights currently pace the Pacific with a 6-2-1 record and 13 points and are coming off of a 7-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

William Karlsson made his season debut in the win, scoring once and picking up an assist.

“He just does so many things throughout the game in all aspects. Special teams, 5-on-5,” Vegas defenceman Alex Pietrangelo told NHL.com afterwards. “He’s an elite centreman. Especially an elite defensive centreman.”

The win was their third in a row, with a 6-4 win over Ottawa on Friday and a 6-1 win over the LA Kings on Wednesday, and extended their home winning streak to six games.

“We played well. (The first period) was our best probably single period of the season,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy told NHL.com. “At the end of the day, they were ready to go. That’s our job as coaches to make sure they’re prepared. From there, the game took care of itself.”

Vegas has been an offensive force to start the year, leading the league with 42 goals to open the season. Ivan Barbashev leads them in the goal-scoring category with seven markers to his name while Mark Stone leads his club with 17 points through nine skates.

In net, Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov have split the goaltending duties. Hill has played five games, posting a 3-2-0 record with a 3.85 GAA and a .864 save percentage, and Samsonov has suited up for four outings, putting up a 3-0-1 record with a 2.21 GAA and a .932 save percentage.

2024-25 Stats

3. Fast Facts

More Rasmus

Rasmus Andersson’s blistering start to the season has seen him score four goals – tied for the team lead with Jonathan Huberdeau – and post 10 points through the opening eight games. He’s currently sitting third amongst all NHL defencemen in scoring. His goal on Saturday against the Jets pushed him into double digits in points, making him the first Flames blueliner since Mark Giordano to reach the 10-point mark prior to his 10th game of the season. He also required the fewest games by a Calgary defenceman to reach the 10-point mark since Phil Housley in 1995.

Naz-HIM

Nazem Kadri has scored 10 career goals against Vegas, tied for the sixth-most by a single skater against the Golden Knights. Only Anze Kopitar (14), Ryan O’Reilly (12), Kyle Connor (11), Leon Draisaitl (11), and Tyler Toffoli (11) have more. Kadri has posted 17 points in 24 career games against Vegas.

Closing In On 500

Jonathan Huberdeau, who is currently tied for second in team scoring, is closing in on a milestone as he’s just two assists shy of 500. The 31-year-old is currently tied for the team lead in goals with four and has seven points through eight games this season.

Quick Strike

On Saturday, Mikael Backlund potted a goal just 28 seconds into the game, giving his fifth career opening-minute goal. Only four players in franchise history have more: Theo Fleury (7), Eric Vail (7), Jarome Iginla (6), and Colin Patterson (6).

4. Players To Watch

Flames – Connor Zary

The forward heads into tonight’s game on a two-game point streak and has seven points through the opening eight games of the season. He’s been extremely dangerous offensively all season and in his last few games, he’s nearly found the back of the net multiple times but luck hasn’t been on his side in that regard. However, the hockey gods like to repay efforts like his and if he continues to generate opportunities like he has, the goals are going to come.

Golden Knights – Pavel Dorofeyev

The 24-year-old forward has his sights set on smashing his previous career-highs in goals (13) and points (24) set last year and is well on his way to doing so.

He has four goals and seven points through the opening nine games in 2024-25 and is coming off a three-point performance against San Jose on Saturday, scoring a powerplay goal and picking up two assists. He also had nine shots on net in the 7-3 win over the Sharks. He’s recently been playing on a line with Brett Howden and Tomas Hertl.

Dorofeyev was Vegas’ third round pick in 2019 and has suited up for 76 career games.

5. Lineup Notes

The Flames did not skate on Sunday as it was a travel day – updated lines and pairings will be in today’s Projected Lineup.

Here’s how the group looked on Saturday against the Jets:

FORWARDS

Yegor Sharangovich – Nazem Kadri – Andrei Kuzmenko
Jonathan Huberdeau – Martin Pospisil – Anthony Mantha
Connor Zary – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman
Ryan Lomberg – Justin Kirkland – Adam Klapka

DEFENCE

MacKenzie Weegar – Daniil Miromanov
Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – Brayden Pachal

GOALTENDER

Dustin Wolf

Forward Sam Honzek remains on the Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury.