Flames at Sharks preview

FLAMES (48-23-7) at SHARKS (44-25-9)
8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN, NBCSCA, NHL.TV

The Flames are 7-3-0 in their past 10 games and lead the second-place Sharks by six points. Each team has four regular-season games remaining.
San Jose ended its season-high seven-game losing streak and clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 overtime victory on Saturday at home against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks lead Vegas by six points and can finish no lower than second place in the division.
The Sharks are 1-6-1 in their past eight games after a six-game winning streak.

Players to watch

Flames defenseman Mark Giordano has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games.
Sharks forward Logan Couture has six points (four assists, two goals) in his past five games.

They said it

"He's had some struggles offensively. They're well documented. But it's not for a lack of effort, and he cares, he really cares. And he's probably piled on himself a little too hard. It was good to see it go in for him." -- Flames coach Bill Peters on forward Sean Monahan, who had two goals and two assists in a 6-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday
"It's going to be the same type of hockey game it was tonight. They have a good team, they're a good transition team, they're a speed team. We're going to have to bring this same game tomorrow night." -- Sharks forward Evander Kane after the victory against Vegas

Flames projected lineup

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

Sharks projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Logan Couture -- Gustav Nyquist
Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Joonas Donskoi
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Kevin Labanc
Micheal Haley -- Dylan Gambrell -- Barclay Goodrow
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon -- Justin Braun
Joakim Ryan -- Tim Heed
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Jake Middleton
Injured: Erik Karlsson (groin), Radim Simek (right knee), Joe Pavelski (lower body), Lukas Radil (undisclosed), Melker Karlsson (undisclosed)

Status report

Bennett, who has missed the past four games, is expected to return to the lineup either against San Jose or on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.

Stat pack

Tkachuk has no points in his past four games after having 13 (eight goals, five assists) in his previous six. … Thornton is two assists from tying Steve Yzerman (1,063) for eighth place on the NHL list. … Hertl has five points (three goals, two assists) in a three-game goal/point streak.