Despite their record, the Canucks remain one of the best teams in the west, if not in the NHL and represent a real test for the Flames at the tail end of this home stand. Calgary is getting some things done mostly on the back of depth players at ES, but it’s a "Canucks" class of team that has proven to be the issue these last few, playoff-less years.

There’s no reason to believe that the club will suddenly start trading punches with the big boys, but if the Flames are truly to battle for the post-season this year, they’ll have to pull a few out against the best in the league once in a while. Perhaps tonight will be one of those times.