Red-hot Flames ready for challenge of facing consistent Golden Knights

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The Vegas Golden Knights will begin a key Pacific Division back-to-back Saturday night against the Calgary Flames without the services of leading scorer Jack Eichel and top-scoring defenseman Shea Theodore.

Eichel, tied for ninth in the NHL with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists), and Theodore, who has scored four goals and 20 points, both missed their first games of the season on Wednesday when the Golden Knights took a 2-1 shootout loss to visiting New Jersey.

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said before that game that Eichel was scratched because of an illness, but after practice on Friday, he said his star center was also bothered by a lower-body injury.

"Jack won't travel," Cassidy said. "He'll still be day-to-day. He's got a lower-body injury as well. He wasn't feeling good the other day. There's a lot going on. That's where it's at with Jack. So maybe next week we'll see where (he's) at."

Theodore, who has tallied 15 points in his last 17 games and is considered a strong candidate to make the Canadian Olympic team, has an upper-body injury.

"(Theodore) is week-to-week," Cassidy said. "Won't travel. He's going to be okay, but maybe (out) a little longer than we first thought."

Vegas is 9-2-5 away from home this season and captured nine out of a possible 10 points (4-0-1) on its recent East Coast trip. It'll be playing a Calgary team that is 6-1-1 in its last eight home games and is 9-4-1 in its last 14 games overall. The Golden Knights then face two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton on Sunday night.

"Calgary was struggling but I think is playing a little better hockey now," Vegas forward Tomas Hertl said. "Edmonton has been a rival for a couple years now. We definitely have something to prove and some good hockey to play. Definitely won't be an easy trip."

The Flames have rebounded from a dreadful 2-9-2 start to move within five points of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Calgary comes in off a 4-2 victory over visiting Seattle on Thursday. The Flames, who got two goals from Mikael Backlund and three primary assists from Rasmus Andersson, rallied from a 2-1 deficit entering the third period.

"We could have hung our heads and just been complacent with playing well and just used the hot goaltender excuse, but we fought to the end, had great chances," said center Nazem Kadri, who tied it midway through the third period with a power-play goal and also had an assist. "Our detail was great tonight, and overall liked our full effort for the full game."

Andersson, who picked up his 200th career assist on Backlund's first goal, said the team is looking forward to a stretch where the Flames play six of their next seven games at the Saddledome, with the lone road game a short 175-mile trip north to Edmonton for the Battle of Alberta.

"We've played well on home ice lately," Andersson said. "I think we have quite a few home games here now. Just take care of our home ice and then we'll see where it leads us."

This is the third of four meetings between the two teams this season. Vegas won the first two, 4-2 at Calgary on Oct. 14 and 6-1 in Las Vegas on Oct. 18.

--Field Level Media