CALGARY vs WINNIPEG
When: 2/1/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: WINNIPEG , CALGARY

Oddsmakers currently have the CALGARY listed as -115-moneyline favorites versus the WINNIPEG, while the game’s total is sitting at 6.

Jacob Markstrom’s 37-save shutout performance in a 2-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday is exactly what the Calgary Flames were looking for when they signed him via free agency.

The Flames, who snapped a three-game losing skid with the win, are looking for more of the same when they visit the Winnipeg Jets on Monday in the first of three meetings in four nights in Winnipeg.

The Flames have struggled to find a true No. 1 goalie since Miikka Kiprusoff’s scintillating performances before he retired after the 2012-13 season, and that’s why Markstrom was lured with a six-year, $36-million contract. He rewarded them with a brilliant performance in Montreal.

“When your goalie plays like that, you’re not going to lose. Ever,” said captain Mark Giordano. “Obviously, we’ve been on a little bit of a slide here. Guys were blocking shots and we were invested emotionally, and he was our backbone out there. We’ll take those goaltending performances whenever we can get them.”

Goals by Johnny Gaudreau — who has a point in every game this season giving him a seven-game point-scoring streak — and Mikael Backlund provided the offensive attack, but unquestionably Markstrom was the difference.

“When the shots were coming, I was seeing the puck,” said Markstrom, who recorded his second shutout of the season and celebrated his 31st birthday on Sunday. “When I didn’t, our guys were blocking shots and clearing rebounds. That was a big win for us to come back here after some games where we haven’t been happy and satisfied with the results. It’s a big win for us and something we can build on.”

The Jets, who have lost two of three games, will be looking to rebound after Saturday night’s disappointing 4-1 home loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Coach Paul Maurice made no bones about why his team — which is yet to have newly acquired young center Pierre-Luc Dubois in the lineup as he goes through the quarantine protocol — was defeated.

“Those were our poorest back-to-back periods that we’ve had this year,” said Maurice, who obviously expects a better effort against the Flames. “The only hard lesson in that one is the team that worked the hardest won. They deserved to win that hockey game. We got beat is the cleanest way to put it.”

Among the issues was Winnipeg’s lack of offensive execution. The Jets managed only 11 shots on goal over the final two periods. Having had four days between games, the Jets should have been rested and ready but instead struggled to find any momentum.

“We were a little disjointed again and we’re getting away from some of the things that gave us success,” said captain Blake Wheeler. “We’re going to have a few more of these long breaks this year. We have to learn how to come out of them.”

The poor play after a rest isn’t the only issue facing Wheeler and his line. In eight games, the Jets have surrendered 15 goals during five-on-five play, and Wheeler has been on the ice for 10 of them. It’s not a good sign when your top line is being outplayed by the opposition’s big guns.

“We’ve got some guys on our back end that can be a part of that, too,” Maurice said. “I don’t feel that they’re cheating the defensive game to go on offence. As a line since they’ve been together, they had stretches of pretty good hockey offensively, but their defensive game hasn’t been great, yet.”

On the flip side for Winnipeg is the point-scoring run for third-line center Adam Lowry, who has found the scoresheet in a career-best six consecutive games.

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CALGARY FLAMES vs CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
When: 7:00 PM  ET, Sunday, December 2, 2018
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois

TV: 7:05 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: CHICAGO , CALGARY

Oddsmakers currently have the CALGARY listed as -145-moneyline favorites versus the CHICAGO, while the game’s total is sitting at 6.

The Calgary Flames have vaulted to the top of the Pacific Division standings behind a potent offense and a suddenly stingy defense, and have a good chance of strengthening their position when they visit the struggling Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Calgary is 5-1-1 in its last seven games after holding Los Angeles to 14 shots in Friday’s 4-1 victory with goaltender Mike Smith improving his save percentage by 20 points in winning his last two games.

“We’re a confident group,” Calgary center Sean Monahan told reporters after scoring his team-high 14th goal Friday. “You come to the rink every day and you want to win. I think with the group we have in here, the guys that are in here coming to compete every day, we have a good chance every night.” Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk have recorded a team-high 29 points apiece for the Flames, who have not won a division title since 2005-06. Chicago lost at Nashville 5-2 on Saturday for its third straight setback and is 3-11-3 since a promising start, including 3-7-2 after Jeremy Colliton took the coaching reins from Joel Quenneville on Nov. 6. Calgary prevailed 5-3 on Nov. 3 for its fourth straight victory over the Blackhawks as Monahan scored twice, giving him 10 goals in 16 games versus Chicago.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet West (Calgary), NBCS Chicago

ABOUT THE FLAMES (15-9-2): Gaudreau (10 goals) has scored in two straight games and in four of his last six while Tkachuk (12 goals) recorded two assists Friday after being kept off the scoresheet in three straight games. Mikael Backlund scored twice Friday, giving him four multi-point games this season to account for 11 of his 16 points. Monahan (27 points) scored nine goals in 13 November games while Elias Lindholm (26 points) recorded two assists Friday in his 400th career game and has eight points (two goals) in his last eight contests.

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (9-13-5): Artem Anisimov, who scored 20 or more goals in his first three seasons with Chicago, recorded his fifth in 2018-19 on Saturday and has goals in consecutive games for the first time this season. Patrick Kane had an assist versus Nashville, giving him a team-high 30 points and five during a four-game point streak. Rookie defenseman Henri Jokiharju (10 assists) returned Saturday after missing the last two games because of illness and played 20:02.

OVERTIME

1. The Blackhawks are 1-5-2 versus the Pacific Division this season, getting outscored 29-14.

2. Calgary and Colorado are tied for the league lead with 40 third-period goals apiece.

3. Chicago is 0-for-12 on the power play in its last six games.

PREDICTION: Flames 3, Blackhawks 2

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MONTREAL CANADIENS vs CALGARY FLAMES
When: 9:00 PM  ET, Thursday, November 15, 2018
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta

TV: 9:05 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: CALGARY , MONTREAL

Oddsmakers currently have the MONTREAL listed as 125-moneyline favorites versus the CALGARY, while the game’s total is sitting at 6.

The Calgary Flames managed only four goals during a three-game road trip against their Pacific Division rivals in California, but they will look to get back on track against an opponent that is struggling mightily to shut down the opposition. The Flames will look to dent Montreal’s porous defense when they open a four-game homestand against the Canadiens on Thursday night.

Calgary had won four straight before dropping two of three in California, with the lone win a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. “Everyone wants to be on the scoresheet and get points, but … you have to make a difference to help the team win,” forward Sam Bennett said. “If it’s not going (in), if you’re not getting on the scoresheet, you have to contribute in other ways.” The Canadiens were bludgeoned by Edmonton 6-2 in the opener of their three-game trek through Western Canada and have surrendered 21 goals while dropping three of their last four. “You can’t win games 6-5 and 5-4 all the time,” Montreal defenseman David Schlemko said. “We talked about that, and it’s time to buckle down and execute.”

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS RDS, TSN2 (Montreal), Sportsnet West (Calgary)

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (9-6-3): Forward Max Domi got the day off from practice Wednesday but he scored his team-leading 10th goal against Edmonton to extend his points streak to seven games. Domi’s marker allowed him to surpass his season total in 82 games with Arizona last season and gave him five goals and six assists during his point streak. Coach Claude Julien said after practice that he was leaning toward starting goaltender Carey Price, who has surrendered 19 goals in his last four appearances but who had a strong outing in a 3-2 win over Calgary on Oct. 23.

ABOUT THE FLAMES (10-7-1): Veteran Mike Smith has allowed at least three goals in eight of his 12 starts, but he will get the nod after turning aside 26 of 28 shots in Sunday’s 3-1 loss at San Jose. “At points in the season, it hasn’t been there,” Smith said. “It was nice to get in a game like that and keep it close as long as we could there, and have a good couple days of practice. It’s about going into tomorrow and just being myself and hopefully get a big win.” Calgary will feature a revamped second line with Mikael Backlund centering Matthew Tkachuk and Bennett.

OVERTIME

1. Flames F Johnny Gaudreau has two goals and 11 points in nine games against Montreal.

2. Domi had two assists versus Calgary last month, giving him 12 points in 13 games versus the Flames.

3. Flames F Dillon Dube will sit out one more game, coach Bill Peters said.

PREDICTION: Flames 4, Canadiens 3

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VANCOUVER vs CALGARY
When: 10:00 PM  ET, Saturday, December 9, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta

TV: 10:05 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: CALGARY , VANCOUVER

Oddsmakers currently have the VANCOUVER listed as 145-moneyline favorites versus the CALGARY, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

CALGARY, Alberta — The Vancouver Canucks have a huge gap to fill for at least the next month.

They began life on Thursday without top center Bo Horvat, who is out with a broken foot. He was injured Tuesday in a win over Carolina and watched the Canucks lose meekly 4-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers two days later.

The Canucks (14-11-4) are in action again Saturday evening when they visit the Calgary Flames.

“When you lose top guys in your lineup someone else has to step up,” Canucks coach Travis Green told reporters in Vancouver.

“And a lot of times it’s by committee. You can’t expect one person to become Bo Horvat.”

Horvat has 10 goals and 10 assists in 28 games and is second on the team behind rookie winger Brock Boeser.

The Canucks made a move late Thursday night to fill the roster spot, though it certainly won’t replace the offense Horvat supplies.

They acquired forward Nic Dowd from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the third Subban brother, Jordan, a defensive prospect who is in the American Hockey League.

Dowd, a 27-year-old from Huntsville, Ala., has one assist in 16 games with the Kings this season. His first full NHL season of 2016-17 saw him register six goals and 22 points in 70 games.

The loss to Philadelphia derailed a nice run by the Canucks, who were looking for their fourth straight win.

“Home, road — whatever. If there’s two points up for grabs, we need to show up and give it everything we have. We had a good practice today and we’ll be ready for Calgary,” said Canucks defenseman Michael del Zotto on Friday.

The Flames (15-12-2) return home after a successful two-game trip where they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout on Wednesday and beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime on Thursday.

The win over Montreal snapped a three-game losing streak that also included a loss to Philadelphia on Monday.

Calgary’s head coach Glen Gulutzan preached patience after the Montreal game.

“You can’t ride the waves too high or too low, you’ve got to stick with your game and at the end of the day you can get there if you keep that perspective,” he said.

The Flames will have pesky sophomore Matthew Tkachuk back in the lineup. The winger sat out a one-game suspension for a spearing incident in Toronto, his second spearing suspension of the season.

What’s unknown is the status of Jaromir Jagr, who has missed the past two contests with a lower-body injury. The 45-year-old has missed 12 of the Flames’ first 29 games and has one goal and six assists in what is looking more and more like his 25th and final NHL season.

This is the third meeting of the season for the Flames and Canucks. Calgary won 5-2 in Vancouver on Oct. 14 and the Canucks returned the favor with a 5-3 victory in Calgary on Nov. 7.

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PHILADELPHIA vs CALGARY
When: 9:00 PM  ET, Monday, December 4, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta

TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBCSN Philadelphia Plus, Sportsnet West (Calgary)
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: Flames 4, Flyers 3

Oddsmakers currently have the PHILADELPHIA listed as 130-moneyline favorites versus the CALGARY, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

CALGARY, Alberta — The Philadelphia Flyers were shut out in their latest contest to see their winless skid extend to 10 games (0-5-5) heading into a Monday tilt against the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

While the Flyers (8-11-7) were blanked 3-0 by the Boston Bruins on home ice on Saturday afternoon, the Flames (14-11-1) fell 7-5 to the visiting Edmonton Oilers later that evening.

The Flyers have lost 10 straight games for the first time since a similar stretch of futility in February 2008.

“We’re just squeezing our sticks,” Flyers captain Claude Giroux said Saturday after Philadelphia’s sixth shutout loss of the season. “We just need that first win so we can have a breather. It’s not a good time right now. We need to figure it out and figure it out soon.”

After facing off against the Flames, the Flyers will head north to play the Oilers in Edmonton on Wednesday before taking on the Canucks in Vancouver the next night.

“We need this right now,” Calgary right winger Wayne Simmonds said. “We need to get it so it’s just us together. We can finally converse about what we want to do … how we’re going to play. There’s no outside distractions. Obviously (when) guys are at home, there’s families and stuff like that. On the road, we’re each other’s family.”

Meanwhile, the Flames have lost two of their past three games and three of their last five.

“I think we’re in our own head a little bit sometimes trying to play too safe and not make any plays at times,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano, who is slated to suit up for his 700th NHL game against the Flyers.

“Mistakes are going to happen. We’ve got to live with them. When someone makes a mistake, we’ve all got to help out and play together.”

The Flames dug themselves a big hole against the Oilers on Saturday and were trailing 6-1 before reeling off four goals in a span of 7:12 in the third period to pull back within one of their Alberta rivals.

“I don’t think of it as a positive,” Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said of Calgary’s late rally. “I think it’s positive for the fan base that we worked our way back in, but for me, there were other issues early on. In this league, you can’t be down 5-1 at the end of the second period.”

Calgary defenseman TJ Brodie then inadvertently tipped the puck into his own net past goalie David Rittich with 61 seconds left in regulation to seal the victory for the Oilers.

“What we really have to evaluate with our group is what emotional level are we at when we play big games,” Gulutzan said. “When they’re wound tight, and I can tell they’re wound tight and they’re digging in, I worry about them sometimes at those stages.

“They play better when there’s less pressure on them at times, and that’s something we have to deal with better here as a group. They almost wait for something good to happen.”

OVERTIME

1. The Flyers have not gone more than 10 games without a win since their franchise-record 12-game drought from Feb. 24-March 16, 1999, when they had eight losses and four ties.

2. Calgary captain D Mark Giordano’s next game will be his 700th in the NHL.

3. Philadelphia has been shut out six times overall this season and three times during its current skid, which began with back-to-back blankings against Minnesota.

STATS AND RECORDS

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ARIZONA vs CALGARY
When: 9:00 PM  ET, Thursday, November 30, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, Sportsnet360 (Calgary)
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: Flames 4, Coyotes 2

Oddsmakers currently have the ARIZONA listed as 175-moneyline favorites versus the CALGARY, while the game’s total is sitting at 6.

CALGARY, Alberta — Scott Wedgewood will make his fourth consecutive start in net for the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday against the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The 25-year-old rookie has been forced into action because of an upper-body injury that starting goalie Antti Raanta sustained in the first period of a 3-1 home loss to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 22.

OVERTIME

1. Flames leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau has one goal and four assists in his last eight games versus Arizona.

2. Coyotes F Clayton Keller leads the team with 11 goals but hasn’t scored in 11 games.

3. Flames LW Sam Bennett missed practice Wednesday to get stitches in his face but it expected to play Thursday.

“I want to be a starter in this league,” Wedgewood said after stopping 24 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Oilers at Edmonton on Tuesday. “Right now I have an opportunity to kind of take the role here waiting for Antti to come back. Obviously he’s been good for us.”

Despite giving up the game-winning goal to Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at 4:20 of the extra session Tuesday, Wedgewood liked how the Coyotes played.

“I think the guys deserved that win,” said Wedgewood, who has compiled a 2-3-2 record this season to go with a 2.99 goals against-average and a .901 save percentage. “They played well in front of me and took away a high-powered offense — kept them to two goals and an overtime goal. We did great defensively. Overall, we walk out of (Edmonton) probably deserving that win if we play that way moving forward.”

ABOUT THE COYOTES (6-17-4): Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson was forced from Tuesday’s game at Edmonton due to an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, but coach Rick Tocchet expects him to miss the next two games. Antti Raanta (upper body) remains sidelined, which means a fourth consecutive start for Scott Wedgewood, who bounced back from getting yanked in Vegas on Saturday with a solid performance versus the Oilers. “Wedgie was really good for us,” forward Christian Fischer said. “He got the point for us.”

As for when Raanta will return to the lineup, Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet gave the team website an update Wednesday.

“He’ll catch up with us back home,” said Tocchet, whose team will host the New Jersey Devils at the Gila River Arena on Saturday before playing a road game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. “We’ll probably know more about (his recovery) on Friday. Scott will play (Thursday) and then we’ll make a decision after that. We have that back-to-back (this weekend). We’ll go from there.”

The Coyotes recalled Andrew Campbell from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday after fellow defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson left the Tuesday game in the second period because of an upper-body injury.

“He’s still going to be day-to-day, but the injury is a little bit worse than we thought,” Tocchet said of Hjalmarsson.

Calgary is also dealing with lower-body injuries to right wingers Kris Versteeg and Jaromir Jagr. While Versteeg was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, Jagr practiced with the Flames and could be ready to play against the Coyotes.

ABOUT THE FLAMES (13-10-1): Forward Kris Versteeg (lower body), who missed the past two games, was placed on injured reserve as the team seeks a second opinion on his injury, coach Glen Gulutzan said. Calgary recalled forward Garnet Hathaway, who was off to a hot start with Stockton of the American Hockey League, notching 11 goals and eight assists in 18 games. “Anywhere he’ll play he’s going to be a factor,” center Mark Jankowski said. “That’s the good thing about him — he can be a factor on any line, he can play with anyone.”

The Flames recalled Garnet Hathaway from the AHL’s Stockton Heat on Wednesday, and coach Glen Gulutzan said the right winger, who has 43 games of experience over the past three seasons with the Flames, didn’t look out of place at practice.

“Even watching him today, he looks a lot more comfortable than he did last year coming up,” said Gulutzan of Hathaway, who recorded 11 goals and eight assists in 19 games with the Heat before being called up. “It’s a good bolt of energy for us. We’ll see where we are with our injuries.”

After compiling a 3-2-1 record on their six-game road trip, the Flames lost 4-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their return to the Saddledome on Tuesday. Following their game against the Coyotes on Thursday, the Flames will host the Oilers on Saturday before wrapping up their four-game homestand against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.

“We’ve got a couple games at home, and we’ve got to bounce back here quick,” Flames center Sean Monahan said.

Defenseman Michael Stone, who scored Calgary’s lone goal against Toronto, said he is glad the Flames don’t have to wait too long to put the disappointing loss to the Leafs behind them.

“That’s huge when you can learn from the games that you don’t play well in and you can get right back in the saddle and build on your game,” Stone said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

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San Jose Sharks vs Calgary Flames
When: 9:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), Sportsnet (Calgary)
PREDICTION: Flames 3, Sharks 2

Oddsmakers currently have the SAN JOSE listed as -110-moneyline favorites versus the CALGARY, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

CALGARY, Alberta — The contest played Jan. 29 will be the only one this year in which Johnny Gaudreau will enjoy being around Brent Burns.

On Tuesday, the two were among those named as Pacific Division representatives for the upcoming NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

First, though, Burns and the talent-laden San Jose Sharks will try to stymie the Flames star when the teams square off Wednesday night in Calgary.

“Last year I was excited to play with Brent Burns,” Gaudreau said Tuesday afternoon. “He’s kind of a funny guy, and he kept it pretty funny in the locker room. So I’m excited to see him.”

Gaudreau was the lone member of the Flames named to the All-Star squad. Burns, who may be headed to his first Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, will be joined by Sharks right winger Joe Pavelski, goaltender Martin Jones and head coach Peter DeBoer.

It will be the first All-Star appearances for DeBoer and Jones, who worked his way up to the status of star after going undrafted out of the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League and was traded by both the Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins, landing in San Jose for the 2015-16 season.

“Obviously (Pavelski) and (Burns) are givens. I’m glad Marty Jones got rewarded,” DeBoer told the Bay Area News Group. “It’s a great story as far as the way he’s come up and not been handed anything and worked for everything he’s got. Now he’s established himself. I’m very happy for him.”

Wednesday’s meeting will give the Flames a chance to see where they stand against an elite conference team. Calgary is coming off a weak effort in a 2-0 road loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.

Flames goalie Chad Johnson spoke after that defeat about how Calgary needs to come up with better efforts against better teams, such as San Jose.

“Teams that are right around you are a little different than the Phoenixes and Colorados,” he said. “I think we are being tested. We have to respond to these tougher teams who are pushing a bit more than the Phoenixes and Colorados.

“That’s where we are at — we have to push a bit more and give a little bit more and trust ourselves and each other.”

San Jose comes to Calgary fresh off a 5-3 win over the Oilers in Edmonton on Tuesday. Mikkel Boedker led the way with his fourth career hat trick, Burns had a goal — his 16th to lead all NHL defenseman– and two assists, and Jones made 33 saves for his 21st victory in 36 games on his 27th birthday.

The Sharks (25-14-2) top the Pacific Division behind DeBoer, who led them to the Stanley Cup finals last season in his first year behind the San Jose bench. The win over Edmonton give the Sharks five victories in their past seven road games and an overall road record of 11-9-1.

The Flames (22-19-2) are 11-10-0 in the Saddledome.

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Colorado Avalanche vs. Calgary Flames
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), Sportsnet West (Calgary)
PREDICTION: Flames 4, Avalanche 2

Oddsmakers currently have the Flames listed as 200-moneyline favorites versus the Avalanche, while the game’s total is sitting at 5½.

CALGARY, Alberta — The Calgary Flames have enjoyed considerable success against teams below them in the NHL’s Western Conference standings.

The Flames (20-17-2) want to keep that going when they host the Colorado Avalanche (12-24-1) at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.

“We have some big divisional games with teams that are chasing us,” Calgary captain Mark Giordano told Flames TV.

After facing the Avalanche, who they beat 6-3 in Denver on Dec. 27, the Flames will face the Canucks (18-18-3) in Vancouver on Friday before a rematch between the same two teams at the Saddledome the next night.

“We know they’re going to be pushing – there’s desperation,” said Giordano, who admitted that the Flames didn’t play their best game at home on New Year’s Eve when they posted a 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes. “We’ve got to ramp it up here. It’s all about trying to catch the teams that are ahead of you.

“We feel like we still have a good shot of getting into those top three spots (in the Pacific Division). We’ve got to try and focus on catching those guys. It’s our job not to let anyone else back into it either, so we’ve got to take care of business.”

Teammate Matt Stajan agreed that the Flames can’t look past the Avalanche, who have lost four straight games and nine of their last 10.

“The focus is two points against Colorado and then we know what we have after that,” Stajan said. “There’s never an easy game in the NHL. You’ve got to be ready for every game.

“You’ve got to win a lot of games to get to the playoffs and we know that. We’re in a position right now where we can control our own fate here and if we have a good stretch here, we’ll keep pushing forward.”

The Avalanche will be looking to bounce back from a 3-2 loss they suffered in Vancouver to the Canucks on Monday. Vancouver forward Sven Baertschi, a former Flame, scored the game-winning goal on a power play with 3:37 to play in the third period.

“Some of the penalties we’re taking, it’s getting repetitive, but that’s what’s biting us every night,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said after the game. “We keep repeating the same mistakes and it ends up costing us hockey games. Every mistake we make, it seems like other teams are capitalizing on them. We have to be better, it’s that simple.”

Against the Flames, Colorado will go with goalie Calvin Pickard in net for the sixth straight game. Pickard has started every game since Semyon Varlamov went down with a groin injury and he’s played in 11 of Colorado’s past 13 contests.

“I thought after a couple rough outings and some tough breaks at home that (on Monday) he really settled in and kind of got back to his game,” Bednar said. “Made a lot of big saves for us and kept us in that hockey game and gave us a chance to win.”

Colorado right winger Jarome Iginla, who played a club-record 1,219 games with the Flames from 1996 to 2013, talked to a large throng of reporters in Calgary on Tuesday about returning to his old stomping grounds once again.

“Lots of great memories, and I think it always will be (special),” said Iginla, who also leads the Flames in all-time points (1,095) and goals (525). “Not as strange each time. First it is quite an adjustment, and (I’m) more comfortable with each time. But always fun to come back, for sure.”

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Calgary Flames vs Arizona Coyotes
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Calgary), FSN Arizona
PREDICTION: Flames 4, Coyotes 2

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Calgary Flames are on a four-game winning streak, and they won seven of their past 10 (7-2-1).

The Arizona Coyotes are on a five-game losing streak, and they dropped 10 of their past 13 (3-6-4).

Why the disparity in play? Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the best.

“For me, it’s been three things,” Flames general manager Brad Treliving said Wednesday as the team took part in an off-ice workout at Gila River Arena. “We’re getting stops from our goalie, our top guys have been excellent and in this little run we’re on, I think our power play is top 10 in the league and our PK (penalty kill) is like fifth. It really is that simple.”

Calgary (14-13-2) opened the season at 5-10-1, and the struggles were compounded by left winger Johnny Gaudreau’s broken pinkie, which forced him to miss 10 games.

Even before Gaudreau returned to the lineup on Sunday, however, the Flames were getting big contributions from center Sean Monahan (three goals, seven points in his last five games), goalie Chad Johnson (9-2 with a .931 save percentage since assuming the starting goaltending duties from Brian Elliott) and others.

Gaudreau has two goals and four points in the two games since his return, and the Flames are rolling.

“I think we did a good job through the time Johnny wasn’t here in establishing a base of play,” Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Now that we get an offensive catalyst like Johnny in the mix, it just gives us a few more chances every game.”

The Coyotes (8-13-4) owns the second-lowest point total in the NHL. Arizona scored more than two goals just three times in its last 13 games.

“It’s the lack of good plays being made,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. “Usually the top players on your team make good plays, whether it’s on the power play or creating chances. We’re not getting enough of those made. Then you look at some grind plays; should be able to grind some chances out. Not getting enough of those plays. Just not creating enough offense.”

Of Arizona’s 25 games this season, 17 were decided by one goal, leading Tippett to believe his team is close to breaking through. However, Arizona is also being outshot 35.1 to 28.2 on a per-game average. Only goalie Mike Smith (.924 save percentage) is saving the Coyotes from a worse fate on a nightly basis.

“We have to do a better job helping Smitty out,” Arizona defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said.

On Thursday, Smith is expected to start in goal for the Coyotes for the 10th time since returning from a left leg injury on Nov. 16. Smith has stopped 301 of 324 shots over that stretch for a .929 save percentage. Center Brad Richardson is out indefinitely with a broken tibia and fibula he sustained on Nov. 17 at Vancouver.

Johnson is expected to start in goal for the Flames. Left winger Lance Bouma is still out of the lineup due to a shoulder injury.

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Toronto Maple Leafs vs Calgary Flames
When: 8:30 PM ET, Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta

CALGARY, Alberta — Following their longest road trip of the season, the Calgary Flames start a three-game homestand Wednesday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Although they lost 2-1 in overtime to the New York Islanders on Monday, the Flames (10-13-2) finished their six-game road trip a respectable 3-2-1.

Those three wins are as many as the Flames have recorded at the Scotiabank Saddledome — they have a league-worst 3-7 record on home ice — which is something that Calgary captain Mark Giordano said has to improve.

“We’ve got to get some big wins at home,” said Giordano, whose team also hosts the Minnesota Wild on Friday and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. “We haven’t been good enough at home.”

The Flames get several chances to improve their home record over the coming weeks as they play six of their next eight and seven of their next 11 games in Calgary.

“We have to be positive coming back home here,” said goaltender Brian Elliott, who made 25 saves to help the Flames salvage a point against the Islanders.

Sean Monahan also has some positives to build upon as he snapped out of a five-game goalless drought in New York by scoring his sixth goal of the season in the third period.

“It’s nice to put one in there, but at the end of the day we’re here for the two points and we got one out of it,” Monahan said. “We’re got to find a way to get the job done. Unfortunately we didn’t, but we’ve got to bounce back here at home.”

Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan was happy to see Monahan finally find the back of the net and he’s hoping the 22-year-old center can build off of it.

“I think that’ll be a little bit of a weight off his shoulders,” Gulutzan said. “You know how goal scorers are. They can be streaky and I think that was a big goal for him.”

While the Flames have to improve at home, the same can be said for what the Maple Leafs need to accomplish on the road.

After a 4-2 victory over the Oilers in Edmonton on Tuesday night, the Leafs (10-8-4) have a 2-5-4 road record.

“It probably wasn’t our prettiest win, but we’re very happy to kick this road trip off with two points,” defenseman Morgan Rielly told reporters following the win, which snapped Toronto’s three-game losing streak away from the friendly confines of the Air Canada Centre, where they boast an impressive 8-3-0 mark.

Despite his squad’s sub-.500 record on the road, Rielly was eagerly anticipating Toronto’s trip out west to play the Oilers, Flames and Vancouver Canucks, who they’ll face Saturday at Rogers Arena.

“I just really look forward to it,” Rielly told the Toronto Star. “When the league releases our schedule, that’s the first thing I look for — when we go out west. It’s home. I spent a fair bit of time on the Prairies.”

Rielly hails from Vancouver and played three seasons for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League before turning pro in 2013.

“I like going on the road in general,” Rielly said. “We have a chance to play some huge games on the road, try to get some points and improve our road record.”

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