Flames at Panthers preview

FLAMES (23-16-4) at PANTHERS (18-18-6)
7:30 p.m. ET; FS-F, SNF, NHL.TV

The Flames had won the first four games of their streak by one goal each before their 5-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Calgary's only expected lineup is goalie David Rittich getting his fifth start of the season.
The Panthers are home after going 1-2-1 during a road trip that included the postponement of their Jan. 4 game against the Boston Bruins because of dangerous weather conditions. It will be their first home game in 2018.

Players to watch

The Flames' top line of Johnny Gaudreau (one goal, nine assists), Micheal Ferland (four goals, four assists) and Sean Monahan (three goals, five assists) has combined for 26 points during the winning streak.
Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov, who was named to the 2018 NHL All-Star Game on Wednesday, has a three-game goal streak and seven points (three goals, four assists) during his four-game point streak.

They said it

"He's going to need to play a good game and that's his job as a backup, is to come in on these tougher nights." -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan, on goaltender David Rittich
"We got a little break in our schedule and we can't look forward to that. We want to make sure that we empty the tanks for 60 minutes first, not get caught up in that. It's easy to get ready for this game because we're playing a team that's pretty hot right now." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner, on the team playing its final game before a six-day break

Flames projected lineup

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

Panthers projected lineup

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Evgenii Dadonov
Jamie McGinn -- Vincent Trocheck -- Nick Bjugstad
Connor Brickley -- Denis Malgin -- Radim Vrbata
Micheal Haley -- Derek MacKenzie -- Colton Sceviour
Keith Yandle -- Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson -- Mark Pysyk
MacKenzie Weegar -- Alexander Petrovic
James Reimer
Harri Sateri
Scratched:Jared McCann, Ian McCoshen
Injured:Roberto Luongo (lower body)

Status report

Calgary did not have a morning skate. … The Panthers sent forward Maxim Mamin to Springfield of the American Hockey League on Friday.

Stat pack

The Flames are 48-0-2 during the past two seasons when leading after two periods. Their .960 winning percentage is second in the NHL to the Pittsburgh Penguins (.961). … The Flames have killed off its last 16 penalties, dating to the third period of a 2-1 loss against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 29. … Florida leads the NHL in shorthanded goals with eight, including a League-best four by Barkov.