Flames at Penguins preview

FLAMES (34-16-7) at PENGUINS (30-20-7)
1 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-PT, SNW, NHL.TV

Malkin, who has 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in his past 12 games, has missed six of Pittsburgh's past seven games, including a 3-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday because of a one-game suspension. He was sidelined for five games from Feb. 1-9 with a neck injury.
The Penguins have won two straight following a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) and are 5-7-1 in their past 13. They lead the Carolina Hurricanes by one point for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
The Flames will look to end a season-high four-game losing streak (0-2-2), when they have been outscored 18-10. They are 1-3-2 in their past six games after winning eight of their previous nine (8-0-1). Calgary is tied with the San Jose Sharks for first in the Pacific and with San Jose and the Winnipeg Jets for first in the Western Conference.

Players to watch

Flames forward Elias Lindholm has 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in his past 18 games, including at least one point in 16 of those games.
Penguins center Sidney Crosby has five points (one goal, four assists) during a three-game point streak. He has 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists) in his past 22 games.

They said it

"We've got another level that we can get back to. I don't think we're all dialed in and 100 percent committed to doing it right each and every shift. So there's room to grow here." -- Flames coach Bill Peters
"I think [Malkin's] greatest attribute is his instinctive play. He's so dominant when he's on top of his game. ... He's able to do things that most people can't do."-- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Sam Bennett
Andrew Mangiapane
-- Mark Jankowski --
Curtis Lazar
Michael Frolik -- Derek Ryan -- Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano --
TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin -- Travis Hamonic
Oliver Kylington -- Dalton Prout
Mike Smith
David Rittich
Scratched:Rasmus Andersson, Austin Czarnik
Injured:James Neal (lower body), Michael Stone (blood clot)

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Phil Kessel -- Evgeni Malkin -- Nick Bjugstad
Teddy Blueger
-- Jared McCann -- Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese -- Matt Cullen -- Garrett Wilson
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Jack Johnson -- Justin Schultz
Marcus Pettersson -- Chad Ruhwedel
Matt Murray
Casey DeSmith
Scratched:Dominik Simon, Tanner Pearson, Juuso Riikola
Injured:Olli Maatta (upper body)

Status report

Neal will not play after he was injured in a 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday. ... The Flames recalled Lazar from Stockton of the American Hockey League on Friday. ... Schultz was activated off injured reserve Friday and will be a game-time decision after missing 53 games with a fractured left leg.

Stat pack

Gaudreau has five assists in his past seven games after he had 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in his previous 11. ... Kessel needs one point to reach 800 in the NHL.