Flames at Blues preview

FLAMES (2-1-0) at BLUES (0-1-1)
8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, SNF, NHL.TV

Defenseman Joel Edmundson returns after he missed the first two games with a groin injury. The Blues allowed 10 goals in losses to the Winnipeg Jets (5-1) and Chicago Blackhawks (5-4 in overtime).
The Flames who have won two straight games outscoring opponents 10-4 will play the second of a three-game road trip. Goalie Mike Smith will start after making 43 saves in a 3-0 victory at the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Players to watch

Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has seven points (one goal, six assists) in three games and 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 12 games against the Blues.
Blues center Ryan O'Reilly has four assists in two games and 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in 30 games against the Flames.

They said it

"We had time too. It wasn't a back-to-back situation and he played real well. Give him an opportunity to build off that." -- Flames coach Bill Peters on starting goalie Mike Smith
"I'm happy to have him back. Huge part of not only our defensive group but our identity, being a team that's hard to play against." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo on defenseman Joel Edmundson

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Austin Czarnik
Sam Bennett -- Dillon Dube -- James Neal
Michael Frolik -- Derek Ryan --
Anthony Peluso
Mark Giordano -- TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin -- Michael Stone
Juuso Valimaki --
Rasmus Andersson
Mike Smith
David Rittich
Scratched:Mark Jankowski, Garnet Hathaway, Dalton Prout
Injured:Travis Hamonic (facial fracture)

Blues projected lineup

Pat Maroon -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- David Perron
Alexander Steen -- Tyler Bozak -- Jordan Kyrou
Ivan Barbashev -- Robert Thomas -- Sammy Blais
Joel Edmundson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester -- Colton Parayko
Jakub Jerabek -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Chad Johnson
Scratched:Chris Thorburn, Jordan Schmaltz, Vince Dunn
Injured: Robby Fabbri (groin), Carl Gunnarsson (knee, hip), Nikita Soshnikov (concussion), Oskar Sundqvist (concussion)

Status report

Dube, who has a lower-body injury, skated Thursday. Peters said he's a game-time decision. If he can't play, Jankowski will move into the lineup. ... Jerabek will make his Blues debut, in place of Dunn. ... Fabbri, Soshnikov, Gunnarsson and Sundqvist each took part in the morning skate but will not play.

Stat pack

Tkachuk (one goal, five assists) and Monahan (four goals, one assist) each has a three-game point streak. ... Gaudreau needs two goals for 100 in the NHL. ... Bouwmeester needs two points for 400 in the NHL.