Flames at Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights tied the NHL record for most wins by a first-year expansion team by doubling up the Calgary Flames last month. The league-leading Golden Knights will look to set another mark at the expense of the Flames when they continue their seven-game homestand on Wednesday.
Vegas' second-ranked offense failed to cash in against John Gibson and Ryan Miller in a 2-0 setback against Anaheim on Monday, keeping the club even with the Hartford Whalers (1979-80) for most home wins (22) by an expansion club. The regulation loss was just the Golden Knights' second against a Pacific foe this season (14-2-1), perhaps a telling story as to why Vegas remains comfortably atop the division. Calgary has cooled off considerably following its season-high seven-game winning streak, posting a 5-10-5 mark to fall two points out of third place in the congested Pacific. "We know what it is, but we don't want to use it as an anchor either," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said, when asked about the Golden Knights' home record.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Calgary), AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountains (Vegas)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (30-21-9): Matthew Tkachuk scored in Calgary's 4-2 setback to Vegas on Jan. 30 and remained red-hot by netting his 14th goal in 22 games during Monday's 2-1 overtime loss to Boston. Fellow forward Troy Brouwer is expected to wear a full cage in his return versus Vegas after sustaining a facial fracture after taking a puck to the face in a Feb. 8 game against New Jersey. "You want guys with experience but you also want that balance of youth and we think we have lots of youth playing right now," Gulutzan said. "But it's nice to get some guys in the lineup that have been there and been in these last 20."
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (39-16-4): Reilly Smith scored and set up a goal in Vegas' initial meeting with Calgary to ignite a 15-point stretch over 10 games before being held in check against Anaheim. "I don't think we created enough opportunities," Smith told the Las Vegas Review Journal after falling to the Ducks. "I think they did a good job boxing us out in front of their net. If we could have created a couple more screens or a couple more scrambles, I think we might have been able to find one or two that could have changed the game." Another game-changing event was the absence of James Neal and defenseman Shea Theodore, who are being plagued by illnesses.
OVERTIME
1. Calgary LW Johnny Gaudreau has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 10 games this month.
2. Golden Knights LW David Perron has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 10 contests in February.
3. The Flames re-assigned F Morgan Klimchuk to the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League.