season series

This is the first of two meetings between the Islanders and Flames. New York is 1-0-1 on the road against Calgary over the past two seasons, with both games decided in penalty shootouts.

The second match between the two teams will take place on March 14th at UBS Arena.

frame notebook

Calgary enters Saturday’s contest with a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. On Thursday night, none of their three records were evenly strong. The Flames just finished a five-game road trip and are beginning a five-game homestand. They have won two of their last seven games.

Calgary started the season with a record of 5-12-3 (13 points), finishing last in the Pacific Division. Since then, they have recorded 14 wins, 10 losses, and 1 draw (42 points), but moved up one spot to seventh place in their division.

Mikael Backlund had one goal and one assist in the win over the Blackhawks, giving him 30 and 31 points for the season. His shorthanded game-winning goal on Thursday night marked Calgary’s seventh shorthanded goal of the season, tied for most in the NHL this year with the Los Angeles Kings. Backlund leads the Flames with five points (2G, 3A) in the last three games.

Connor Zary entered Saturday’s contest on a team-high four-game scoring streak, scoring five points (2G, 3A) in that span. The third-year centerman has appeared in 45 games this season, scoring 18 points (8G, 10A).

Blake Coleman will be placed on injured reserve (IR) on Tuesday and will play against the Islanders. Coleman was injured in Calgary’s 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Jan. 8 and has not played in a game since. Coleman scored 21 points (13G, 8A), tied for sixth on the team this season with Jonathan Huberdeau.

Calgary ranks 27th in the NHL this season with a power play success rate of 15.6%, but has capitalized on the man advantage in each of its past two games, including going 3-for-3 on Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.