The Calgary Flames (30-23-10) will play one of the most important games left on their 2024-25 schedule, when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. It doesn't matter that tonight is the fourth and final meeting between the two Pacific Division rivals. It also doesn't matter that the Flames are 2-1-0 against their Western Canada foes through three meetings. What does matter is the Canucks and Flames are separated by just one point in the wildcard race, with Calgary ahead 70-69 [https://www.nhl.com/standings/2025-03-12/wildcard], making tonight's matchup all that more important to who gains or maintains a lead in the race. The Flames are 4-3-3 in their last ten games, but have won their previous two home games to improve to 18-10-4 at the Saddledome. Moreover, Calgary defeated Vancouver the previous time they came to town, winning 3-1 on New Year's Eve. After the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Flames on Saturday, they defeated the Canucks at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night by a 3-2 score, extending Vancouver's losing streak to two in a row. In their past ten games, they are 4-6-0. BETWEEN THE PIPES Calgary starter - Dustin Wolf [https://www.nhl.com/flames/player/dustin-wolf-8481692] * Season: 38 GP / 22-12-4 / 2.52 GAA / .915 SV% * Career: 56 GP / 30-19-5 / 2.68 GAA / .909 SV% * Last 5: 3-1-1 / 1.80 GAA / .935 SV% * vs. Opponent: 1-0-0 / 1.00 GAA / .958 SV% Canucks starter - Kevin Lankinen * Season: 41 GP / 22-12-7 / 2.54 GAA / .905 SV% * Career: 153 GP / 67-55-19 / 2.92 GAA / .905 SV * Last 5: 2-3-0 / 2.80 GAA / .884 SV% * vs. Opponent: 2-2-0 / 1.87 GAA / .940 SV% CONVERSATION STARTERS - Tonight is as critical as it gets for the Flames in the regular season. Will any unsung heroes score a game tying or game winner? Can Jonathan Huberdeau [https://www.nhl.com/flames/player/jonathan-huberdeau-8476456] or Nazem Kadri [https://www.nhl.com/flames/player/nazem-kadri-8475172] have a career defining performance against the Canucks? - It's no secret that the Flames are the NHL's lowest-scoring team. However, Vancouver gives up 3.03 goals a game, ranking 19th in the league. Will Calgary be able to take advantage of that and surpass their lowly 2.56 goals a game [https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20242025&seasonTo=20242025&gameType=2&sort=goalsForPerGame&page=0&pageSize=50]? Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/6db62f4d-ea13-4137-b44d-5d063d24e2f0.webp] Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images - The Flames rely on their goalies, especially Wolf, to win them games. As he continues to chase down franchise rookie records, could the additional pressures of winning one-goal games every night wear him down as the season winds down and the team approaches the playoffs? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Calgary * 4th Pacific Division * 2nd Wildcard * 8th Western Conference * 15th NHL Vancouver * 5th Pacific Division * 3rd Wildcard * 9th Eastern Conference * 17th NHL FLAMES & CANUCKS LEADERS * Goals: Huberdeau & Kadri (22) / DeBrusk (22) * Assists: Weegar (29) / Hughes (46) * Points: Huberdeau & Kadri (46) / Hughes (60) * PIM: Pachal (80) / Myers (70) * PPG: Huberdeau (7) / DeBrusk (10) * SOG: Kadri (211) / Hughes (143) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FLAMES PROJECTED LINEUP According to Pat Steinberg [https://x.com/Fan960Steinberg], here's a look at the projected lineups for the Flames. (Subject to change) Tonight's game starts at 7:00 p.m. MT and is available on SN and Sportsnet+.
