Here are five milestones the Flames players have been able to achieve over the past two games

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The Calgary Flames have exactly two games left on their schedule.

The playoffs aren't impossible and haven't been for a while, but there are a few career milestones that individual guys play.

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And the Flames will do whatever they can to help them achieve their goals.

“You want to see these guys reach those milestones,” Zari said. “Obviously, they might say it's not important and they're happy to win games, but I think in their minds we want to get there as much as they want to get to those milestones.

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“We're going to try to do that here in the next two games.”

Not only the players are saying this. The Flames coaches also want to see their guys rewarded, and while they don't want anyone to abandon their game plan, they're glad their players are trying to help each other out.

“They're important,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska said. “You always want it to be a team game, but it's important for a defender to get 30 goals or 20 goals and the teammates know that.

“There are times when they're going to do whatever they can to help those guys score if they can. As much as it's about the team, these milestones are important because it establishes the type of season certain individuals will have for us.”

Here are five milestones the Flames can achieve over the last two games:

1. Mackenzie Vigar scored 20 goals

As my colleague Wes Gilbertson revealed last week , Vigar could become the first NHL player to score 20 goals and block 200 shots in the same season since the league began keeping records for blocked shots in 2005-06.

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He broke out in his second season with the Flames and tied his previous high of eight goals in a year.

He already has 200 saves, but he's sitting on 19 goals with two games to go and only three defensemen in the NHL have more.

If the 30-year-old finished the season with 19 goals, it was a great year from start to finish.

That would be a great feather in his cap.

2. Nazem Kadri scored 30 goals

Kadri has scored 30 goals in a season twice before, both late in his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But getting there a third time would be a big deal, even if he played it down when asked after Sunday night's two-goal game against the Arizona Coyotes.

“It doesn't matter to me at all,” Kadri said. “Luckily, I've proven that I can get there and I'm never going to cut myself short, but my teammates are playing great and my teammates are creating opportunities for me.”

Kadri has been the best player on the Flames this year and has produced the best players in rookies Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil. He deserves a thousand thanks for his attitude in difficult situations.

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Getting to 30 would be a fair reward.

3. Thirty for Blake Coleman as well

There is no doubt that Coleman will reach 30 goals had he not been injured against the San Jose Sharks on April 9th.

He has now missed three games and will miss Tuesday's game against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Flames are hoping he'll be available Thursday against the Sharks, giving him one game to reach his goal of reaching 30 for the first time in his career.

“He puts people first, so when he gets close to a milestone, because he's the way he is, guys want to give him back or reward him,” Huska said. “Hopefully we'll get him back in one of these games.”

Coleman, the recipient of the 2023-24 Peter Maher Good Guy Award, has 29 goals and 23 assists this year, both career highs.

4. All in all 82 games

If they play in the final two games of the season, four players will skate in each contest in the 2023-24 group.

Those guys? Kadri, Vigar, Mikael Backlund, and Egor Sharangovic.

It would be the first time Vigar and Saranovic have played in a combined 82 games, while Kadri has done it twice — including for the 2022-23 Flames — and it would mark Backlund's fifth.

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Not every game is easy to play, and it can only be accomplished with a combination of dedication to fitness and some grit.

“They know how to spend their days off, they know how to spend their time to get the maximum recovery that they need,” Huska said.

5. Take the first one

Adam Klapka and Ilya Solovyov have a chance to collect a souvenir puck before the end of the season.

Scoring a goal for the first time in the NHL is a special moment for both of them and a confidence boost before heading back to the AHL for the playoffs with the Calgary Wranglers.

Soloviev has played in eight games this season and has two assists, while Klapka returns to the Flames lineup after a four-game pointless absence in January.

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