Flames at Sharks preview

FLAMES (18-15-3) AT SHARKS (19-11-4)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, SNW, NHL.TV

Backup goaltender
David Rittich
will make his fifth start of the season in the first of back-to-back games for Calgary. He's 3-1-0 with a 2.10 goals-against average. Mike Smith will start at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
The Sharks are 5-1-2 in their past eight games and have won two straight, including a 2-0 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 23. Goaltender Martin Jones, who had a 28-save shutout of the Kings, will start. He's 5-3-0 with a 2.85 GAA against Calgary.

Players to watch

Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past 14 games after having 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in his previous 12.
Sharks forward Joe Pavelski has two goals and three assists during a four-game point streak.

They said it

"The guys have played well, really, really good every single time when I was in the net, so it was easier for me because they blocked a lot of shots, they cleared our zone really well." -- Flames goaltender David Rittich
"We definitely know the significance of the division games. The teams we're playing, whether it's Edmonton or Calgary of Anaheim or L.A., these are teams you know are going to go on runs, so that makes the importance of these games even more to give yourself some breathing room. And on the other side, they know the significance of closing the gap." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer

Flames projected lineup

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

Sharks projected lineup

Jannik Hansen -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson -- Tomas Hertl -- Kevin Labanc
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Joonas Donskoi
Marcus Sorensen
-- Joel Ward -- Mikkel Boedker
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Brent Burns
Joakim Ryan -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Tim Heed, Paul Martin
Injured :Logan Couture (concussion), Barclay Goodrow (lower body)

Status report

Hamonic will return after missing one game with a groin injury. ... Couture skated for a second straight day and is making progress but will miss his fourth straight game.

Stat pack

Calgary is 9-4-3 on the road and hasn't lost in regulation away from home since Nov. 24. … Dillon will play his 400th NHL game.