Flames at Oilers preview

FLAMES (25-16-7) AT OILERS (21-24-3)
9 p.m. ET; SNW, NHL.TV

The Oilers have won six consecutive games against the Flames, including two this season. Goaltender Cam Talbot is expected to start for Edmonton, 3-1-0 in its past four games after going 1-6-1 in its previous eight games.
The Flames will try to avoid their fourth consecutive loss; they're 0-0-3 in their past three games, but have a 10-game point streak (7-0-3).

Players to watch

Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) in his past 10 games, with points in nine of them. He leads Calgary with 56 points (15 goals, 41 assists) in 48 games.
Oilers center Connor McDavid has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past five games. McDavid leads Edmonton with 53 points (15 goals, 38 assists) in 48 games.

They said it

"It's an exciting game. It's the Battle of Alberta going into the [All-Star] break. We know we're going to get everything from them and I hope they know they're going to get everything from us just the way things are going. … Hopefully we're going to be firing on all cylinders and skating well and being physical and playing with a lot of energy." -- Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk
"Every team has their slow nights, we've had it more frequently for some reason, I'm not sure what that is. It's something that we have to figure out and we can't let that happen." -- Oilers captain Connor McDavid on losing 5-0 at home three times since Dec. 31

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Micheal Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Troy Brouwer
Sam Bennett -- Mark Jankowski --
Garnet Hathaway
Marek Hrivik
-- Matt Stajan --
Ryan Lomberg
Mark Giordano -- Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie -- Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak -- Michael Stone
David Rittich
Mike Smith
Scratched: Matt Bartkowski, Andrew Mangiapane, Curtis Lazar
Injured:Kris Versteeg (lower body), Jaromir Jagr (lower body), Michael Frolik (jaw)

Oilers projected lineup

Patrick Maroon -- Connor McDavid -- Drake Caggiula
Milan Lucic -- Leon Draisaitl -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Jujhar Khaira -- Ryan Strome -- Michael Cammalleri
Iiro Pakarinen -- Zack Kassian
Darnell Nurse -- Adam Larsson
Andrej Sekera -- Kris Russell
Oscar Klefbom -- Matt Benning
Brandon Davidson
Cam Talbot
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Yohann Auvitu, Anton Slepyshev, Mark Letestu
Injured: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (ribs)

Status report

Calgary did not hold a morning skate following its 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. Rittich is expected to start after Smith played against the Kings. Lomberg was recalled from Stockton of the American Hockey League on Thursday … Edmonton is expected to dress seven defenseman and 11 forwards. The Flames have not defeated the Oilers since winning 5-0 at Rexall Place on April 2, 2016.

Stat pack

Monahan has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past nine games. … Draisaitl has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past five games.