GAME DAY: Flames and Habs square off for start of pivotal playoff push​on March 8, 2025 at 7:11 pm

When: Saturday, 5 p.m. MT, Scotiabank Saddledome

TV: Sportsnet West Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan

Odds: Canadiens +114, Flames -137

The Flames know what they’ve got for the final 20 games of the season.

It’s the same group that got them this far, and that didn’t change at Friday’s NHL trade deadline.

GM Craig Conroy made no moves at the deadline, although it’s worth noting that he did pull off a big one at the end of January when he flipped Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko to the Philadelphia Flyers and got Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee in return.

But that was it, as far as moves go.

And with the Flames starting Saturday one point behind the Vancouver Canucks, who claimed the frontrunner position for the Western Conference’s second wild card spot with a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday night.

It’s going to be a fight to the finish, no doubt, and it starts with Saturday night’s matchup against a Habs team that’s in a remarkably similar position to the one the Flames find themselves in.

Like their Calgary counterparts, the Canadiens stood pat at the deadline.

They’re one point out of the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot, although out east there are seven teams fighting for two post-season invites, while there are currently four teams in the West fighting for one.

“We do believe in this group and we have great veteran leadership and that’s the key. They’ve really carried this team up until this point and now we need them to have a great 20 games to get us in.”

— Flames GM Craig Conroy after the trade deadline

• Patrik Laine did not practise for the Habs on Friday, and while that caused a quick moment of panic as the team skate coincided with the trade deadline, it turns out he was fighting an illness. He’s still with the team.
• Cole Caufield has scored goals in each of the Canadiens’ last four games.
• The Flames have had a good bit of success against the Habs recently. They’ve won their last three head-to-head matchups, including a 3-2 overtime victory in Montreal at the start of November.
• The Flames completed a gruelling six-game road-trip with Thursday night’s overtime loss to the Dallas Stars. They went 2-2-2 on the trip, which is pretty decent considering they played some of the NHL’s top teams.
• The Flames had an off-day after the trip on Friday and because of Saturday night’s early-than-usual start they did not have a morning skate, so there’s limited information about what changes they might make to their lineup.

Forwards

• Huberdeau-Kadri-Zary
• Farabee-Backlund-Coleman
• Sharangovich-Frost-Pospisil
• Lomberg-Rooney-Coronato

Defence

• Bahl-Andersson
• Hanley-Weegar
• Bean-Pachal

Goalies

• Wolf
• Vladar

Justin Kirkland (knee) and Anthony Mantha (knee) are both out for the season.