Flames at Blue Jackets preview

FLAMES (7-6-2) at BLUE JACKETS (5-5-3)
7 p.m. ET; SNW, SNP, FS-O, NHL.TV

The Flames are 2-1-1 in their past four games, each of them a one-goal game and three of them beyond regulation; they won 6-5 in overtime at the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Goalie David Rittich is expected to make his fifth straight start for Calgary; he has a 3.35 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in his past four starts.
The Blue Jackets look to end a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) following a 4-0-2 stretch.
Goalie Joonas Korpisalo could start for Columbus after backup Elvis Merzlikins made 23 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss at the St. Louis Blues on Friday. Korpisalo is 0-2-0 and has allowed 10 goals on 57 shots in his past two starts.

Players to watch

Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk, who scored on a backhand through his legs in overtime against the Predators on Thursday, has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past four games.
Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois has six points (three goals, three assists) in a five-game point streak to match his longest in the NHL; he has done it twice previously, most recently Nov. 10-19, 2018.

They said it

"We're playing a well-coached team that competes hard, so we've got to start on time. Our starts haven't been as consistent as we like, that's the focus for this evening." -- Flames coach Bill Peters
"We played well but we need a win. It's a result league. These are points that are going to count at the end of the year, so we need a win." -- Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois after the loss to the Blues

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Michael Frolik
Andrew Mangiapane -- Derek Ryan -- Sam Bennett
Milan Lucic -- Mark Jankowski --
Alan Quine
Mark Giordano -- TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin -- Travis Hamonic
Oliver Kylington -- Rasmus Andersson
David Rittich
Cam Talbot
Scratched: Michael Stone, Tobias Rieder
Injured: Austin Czarnik (lower body)

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Gustav Nyquist -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno -- Boone Jenner -- Josh Anderson
Sonny Milano -- Alex Wennberg -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Markus Hannikainen -- Riley Nash -- Emil Bemstrom
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Vladislav Gavrikov -- David Savard
Scott Harrington -- Dean Kukan
Joonas Korpisalo
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratched: Markus Nutivaara, Kole Sherwood
Injured: Brandon Dubinsky (wrist), Alexandre Texier (knee), Ryan Murray (hand)

Status report

Talbot is expected to start at the Washington Capitals on Sunday. … Neither team held a morning skate. … Columbus assigned rookie forward Jakob Lilja to Cleveland of the American Hockey League and recalled Sherwood on Saturday.

Stat pack

Lindholm has six points (four goals, two assists) in a five-game point streak. … Gaudreau has four assists in a three-game point streak. … Monahan had three assists against Nashville and has five in his past four games. … Milano has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past four games. … The Blue Jackets are 5-0-0 this season when scoring first and 0-5-3 when allowing the first goal.