GAME DAY: Canucks and Flames square off in pivotal showdown​on March 12, 2025 at 1:57 pm

And they believed they had the talent in the locker room to stay in the fight until the stretch run, when they’d have Calgary on their side for some really big games.

And here they are, one point up on the Canucks with a game in hand and set to take on their rivals from B.C. with the opportunity to put a little space between them.

“You want to come into March and April playing important hockey and coming down the stretch playing important games,” Flames winger Connor Zary said. “No one wants to be out of it or in that mindset but I think it’s huge when you come in here and you have these games and things that matter and a playoff-type atmosphere and matchup. That’s huge for us.”

The Canucks are coming off a loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night and will need to fight to make sure fatigue doesn’t creep in.
The Flames will need to make sure it does.

But one way or another, this is as big a game as the Flames have had for the last couple of seasons.

“You’re playing meaningful games,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “That’s what we started the year to be able to do, and now it’s one day at a time.”