Flames at Hurricanes preview

FLAMES (24-16-4) at HURRICANES (20-16-8)
3 p.m. ET; FS-CR, SNW, NHL.TV

Their 12-5-4 road record is the best in the Western Conference.
Flames forward Sean Monahan will not play because of reasons undisclosed. Sam Bennett will center the top line and Marek Hrivik will make his debut for Calgary.
Carolina will be without defenseman Brett Pesce (upper body), who was placed on injured reserve on Friday. The Hurricanes played without forwards Derek Ryan (upper body), Elias Lindholm (illness) and Joakim Nordstrom (illness) in a 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday. Each will be a game-time decision Sunday.
Forward Lee Stempniak had an assist Friday in his season debut for the Hurricanes, who have lost three of their past four (1-3-0).

Players to watch

Flames goalie Mike Smith leads the NHL with a .946 road save percentage.
Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho has 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in his past 10 games.

They said it

"Things are going well. We felt we were playing well before the streak started. We weren't getting the breaks. We were losing a few shootout games and overtime games. It turns quick. You want to ride these [streaks] as long as you can." -- Flames captain Mark Giordano
"He's really smart, skilled and strong on the wall. It's easy to read off a guy like that because he's consistent and makes good plays. I thought it was a good game for him, hopefully something he can build off of. He's a big piece." -- Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner on linemate Lee Stempniak's season debut Friday
Flames projected lineup
Johnny Gaudreau -- Sam Bennett -- Micheal Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Troy Brouwer
Andrew Mangiapane -- Mark Jankowski -- Garnet Hathaway
Marek Hrivik -- Matt Stajan -- Curtis Lazar
Mark Giordano -- Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie -- Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak -- Michael Stone
Mike Smith
David Rittich
Scratched:Sean Monahan, Matt Bartkowski
Injured:Jaromir Jagr (lower body), Kris Versteeg (lower body), Michael Frolik (upper body)

Hurricanes projected lineup

Sebastian Aho -- Jordan Staal -- Teuvo Teravainen
Brock McGinn -- Victor Rask -- Justin Williams
Jeff Skinner -- Lucas Wallmark -- Lee Stempniak
Phil Di Giuseppe -- Marcus Kruger -- Josh Jooris
Jaccob Slavin -- Justin Faulk
Noah Hanifin -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Haydn Fleury -- Klas Dahlbeck
Scott Darling
Cam Ward
Scratched: none
Injured: Derek Ryan (upper body), Brett Pesce (upper body), Elias Lindholm (illness), Joakim Nordstrom (illness)

Status report

Neither team held a morning skate. … This will be the final game for Calgary and Carolina before each has its NHL-mandated five-day break.

Stat pack

The Flames are 49-0-2 when leading after two periods since the start of the 2016-17 season. … Staal has six points (three goals, three assists) in a five-game point streak. … Darling is 3-0-1 with a .959 save percentage and 1.24 goals-against average in four career games against the Flames.