1. THE DION:

Difficult not to contemplate the worth of D Dion Phaneuf, one of the most polarizing figures to ever wear a Calgary smock. The Jan. 31, 2010 trade that sent him to the Centre of the Universe brought back four players - D Ian White, C Matt Stajan, RW Jamal Mayers, LW Niklas Hagman. Assessing the transaction - Darryl Sutter's brain-crampiest - is easy. Moving on.

2. CALGARY PIVOTS:

With C Mikael Backlund and C Blair Jones drydocked and C Olli Jokinen excused from two straight on-ice sessions (and C Brendan Morrison long gone), the Flames' middle is rather tattered. Or, looked at another way, wide open for the likes of C Roman Horak and C Matt Stajan. Step right up.

3. APPETITE ASSESSMENT:

On this night, which side is hungrier? The Leafs, clinging to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference? Or the Flames, desperate to break into the Western Conference's elite eight? Whatever the result, intensity should be a foregone conclusion. (That, or a stultifying game of sitbackandwait. Please, no.)

4. HARD TO BELIEVE:

That Toronto is the sixth-most dangerous club in the league, averaging three goals per night, and the possessor of the seventhsharpest power play. Then again, linemates RW Phil Kessel and LW Joffrey Lupul are Nos. 4 and 5 in NHL scoring . . . That the Leafs' penalty-killing is nearly the worst. Only Columbus's is shabbier . . . That D Dion Phaneuf, with 31.3, is second in the league in shifts per game. Only St. Louis D Alex Pietrangelo takes more spins nightly.

5. ANOTHER HOMECOMING:

There have been stops in Phoenix and Nashville and now Toronto since C Matthew Lombardi last toiled for Calgary. But the speedy forward did make 347 appearances for the Flames, garnering 167 points, an output which places him 43rd on the franchise list, sandwiched between C Doug Risebrough and LW Rene Bourque.