5 KEYS TO THE GAME
1 Familiar faces
This off-season, it seemed like there was a mass exodus of Canucks players who decided to test whether the grass was greener in Calgary. Goalie Jacob Markstrom was the big name, but Chris Tanev, Josh Leivo and backup goalie Louis Domingue are all Flames after being with the Canucks last year. After two years with Calgary, Travis Hamonic is with the Canucks. Whether or not the breakups were bad, there's a lot of familiarity here.
2 The shot-stoppers
Markstrom was pretty terrific for the Flames on Saturday, turning away all 32 shots his former teammates threw at him. Having Markstrom wearing opposition colours is a whole lot less fun than having him in your own net, it turns out. The Canucks obviously need to score to win games, but you can bet there will be extra motivation to put a few past their old friend on Monday.
3 Power up
The Canucks have started the season going 0-fo-11 on the power play. It's still early, so there's absolutely no reason to panic, but they're going to need to get things going on the manadvantage. There's too much firepower in the North Division to expect to win many games without scoring when you've got the extra man out there.
4 Conversely
The Flames power play unit has been absolutely lights-out so far. They have converted on four of nine opportunities and all of their biggest names have scored at least one — Matthew Tkachuk has two. Even if they don't keep up that pace, it's encouraging for Flames fans that their big names are lighting the lamp so early.
5 Fast and furious
The schedule makers threw the Canucks right into the deep end. By the time they get back to Vancouver early Tuesday morning, they will have been in Alberta for almost a week and will have played four times in six nights. The Flames won't even play their fourth game until next Sunday, by which point the Canucks will have played seven games.