Flames at Stars preview

FLAMES (32-22-9) at STARS (35-23-4)
8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, SNW, NHL.TV

Calgary, which has outscored opponents 10-3 during its past two games, is tied with the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Flames trail the Anaheim Ducks by one point for third place in the Pacific Division.
Dallas is 1-3-0 in its past four games after going 6-1-0 in its previous seven games. The Stars, who hold the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, trail the Minnesota Wild by three points for third place in the Central Division.

Players to watch

Calgary forward Matthew Tkachuk has eight points (four goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak.
Dallas forward Tyler Seguin has three points (two goals, one assist) in his past two games.

They said it

"They're a lot stingier. We used to come (to Dallas) a year ago and think we were going to trade chances. They aren't trading chances anymore. They've buckled down defensively." -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan
"I said to the players, 'every game is like a single-elimination playoff game and then you've got to move on to the next day and get ready for the next opponent.' That's the way you have to look at it." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Chris Stewart
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Michael Frolik
Sam Bennett -- Mark Jankowski -- Garnet Hathaway
Troy Brouwer -- Matt Stajan -- Curtis Lazar

Mark Giordano -- Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie -- Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak -- Michael Stone
Jon Gillies
David Rittich
Scratched:Matt Bartkowksi, Nicholas Shore, Tanner Glass
Injured:Micheal Ferland (upper body), Kris Versteeg (hip), Marek Hrivik (undisclosed), Mike Smith (lower body)

Stars projected lineup

Remi Elie -- Tyler Seguin -- Mattias Janmark
Antoine Roussel -- Jamie Benn -- Alexander Radulov
Devin Shore -- Radek Faksa -- Tyler Pitlick
Gemel Smith -- Jason Spezza -- Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis -- Greg Pateryn
Marc Methot -- Stephen Johns
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched: Julius Honka, Jason Dickinson
Injured:Martin Hanzal (lower body)

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Status report

The Stars held an optional skate. … Shore, who was acquired from the Ottawa Senators on Monday, had not arrived in Dallas and isn't expected to play.

Stat pack

Gaudreau has 32 points (seven goals, 25 assists) in his past 25 games. … Hamilton has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past six games. … Radulov has three points (two goals, one assist) in his past two games after going pointless in the previous four games. … Benn has two assists in his past six games and has not scored in nine games.