Flames, desperate for two points, travel to Dallas

DALLAS -- Here are the projected lineups for the game Saturday between the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center:

FLAMES

Alex Tanguay - Matt Stajan - Jarome Iginla
Curtis Glencross - Olli Jokinen - David Moss
Lee Stempniak - Blair Jones - Blake Comeau
Tom Kostopoulos - Lance Bouma - Tim Jackman

Chris Butler - Jay Bouwmeester
Mark Giordano - Scott Hannan
Derek Smith - Anton Babchuk

Miikka Kiprusoff
Henrik Karlsson

Injuries: Mikael Backlund (shoulder), TJ Brodie (upper body), Michael Cammalleri (upper body), Cory Sarich (upper body).

Scratches: Roman Horak, Clay Wilson.

Notes:  Losers of four straight, including their last three games in extra time, it’s no big secret the Flames head to Dallas for an afternoon tilt in desperate need of two points. Calgary last played Thursday, dropping a 3-2 decision at Minnesota in overtime. For the season, they are 14-16-9 on the road and 5-1-4 in their last 10 games. But if there’s anything to give the Flames hope, it’s that both of their first two meetings this season with the Stars have gone to the wire. Dallas won in overtime at American Airlines Center earlier this year and it took a shootout for the Stars to leave Calgary with two points when these clubs met at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Flames are currently 11th in the Western Conference standings with 83 points, but a regulation win today would tie them with Dallas, who currently sits in eighth.

STARS

Loui Eriksson - Mike Ribeiro - Michael Ryder
Brenden Morrow - Jamie Benn - Steve Ott
Eric Nystrom - Vernon Fiddler - Radek Dvorak
Jake Dowell - Tom Wandell - Adam Burish

Sheldon Souray - Stephane Robidas
Philip Larsen - Alex Goligoski
Trevor Daley - Adam Pardy

Kari Lehtonen
Richard Bachman

Scratches: Jordie Benn, Ryan Garbutt, Toby Petersen. Tomas Vincour.

Injuries: Mark Fistric (abdominal strain).

Notes:  After putting together an 11-game point streak, the Stars have dropped three of their last four, including two of their first three games on their current homestand, which ends with the visit by the Flames. Dallas last played Thursday, losing 2-1 to the Canucks. Scoring goals has suddenly become an issue for the Stars as only once in their last six games have they scored more than twice in a game. That came Tuesday night in a 4-3 shootout win against the Coyotes. Dallas has beaten Calgary twice this season already, once in overtime at American Airlines Center and again in a shootout in Alberta.  Two Stars players have ties to the Flames. LW Eric Nystrom started his career in Calgary while D Adam Pardy spent the last few seasons there before signing with Dallas as a free agent last summer.