Preview - Flames vs. Panthers

PANTHERS (20-17-8) VS. FLAMES (23-20-3)
BROADCAST: 7:00 PM MT; Sportsnet West (TV), Sportsnet 960 The FAN (radio)
SEASON SERIES:Tuesday's match-up will be the first of a two-game season series between the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers. In 2015-16, the Flames went 1-1-0 against the Panthers. Their win came on Jan. 13, 2016 when they routed the Panthers 6-0 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Sam Bennett netted four goals in the victory and led all Flames skaters with four points in the season series last year.

PANTHERS' TEAM SCOPE:The Panthers, who have won three of their last four skates, have pulled within two points of a Wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. They are coming off of a 4-3 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, with Vincent Trocheck leading the way with two points. Trocheck now leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and 29 points through 45 skates. Jonathan Marchessault, Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr trail him with 27 points each. Goaltender Roberto Luongo has a 13-11-5 record with a 2.39 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
FLAMES' TEAM SCOPE:Calgary is hanging onto the first Wildcard spot in the West with 49 points on the year. In four games last week, the Flames went 1-2-1 and are coming off of a 2-1 shootout setback to the Oilers on Saturday. Sean Monahan scored the Flames' lone goal in the loss in Edmonton, which was his second goal in as many games. Monahan now has 12 goals and 25 points on the season. Brian Elliott was in net on Saturday, making 26 saves on 27 shots. Mikael Backlund leads the Flames in scoring with 12 goals and 29 points in 46 games. Johnny Gaudreau (10 goals, 28 points) and Matthew Tkachuk (8 goals, 27 points) round out the top three in scoring.