Flames at Canucks preview

FLAMES (46-21-7) at CANUCKS (32-32-10)
10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, NHL.TV

The Flames, four points ahead of the idle San Jose Sharks, are 5-1-0 in their past six games following a four-game losing streak. The Sharks have a game in hand.
Forward James Neal will return to the Calgary lineup after missing 17 games with an upper-body injury.
The Canucks, five points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with eight games to play and a game in hand, seek their fourth straight victory and longest winning streak this season. Vancouver is 4-0-1 in its past five games after going 4-10-3 in its previous 17.

Players to watch

Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in his past six games.
Canucks forward Brock Boeser has nine points (three goals, six assists) in an NHL career-best eight-game point streak.

They said it

"It's always tough when you get injured but I took it as a positive and rested up and got ready for a big playoff run. I got that energy back that I needed and I feel strong and ready to go now." -- Flames forward James Neal
"We have a lot of young guys that can learn from this game. We are playing one of the best teams in the League at a crucial time of the year where we need points and we are fighting for a playoff spot. You have to embrace it, you have to have fun with it." -- Canucks center Bo Horvat

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 -- TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin -- Travis Hamonic
Oscar Fantenberg -- Rasmus Andersson
Mike Smith
David Rittich
Scratched: Alan Quine , Curtis Lazar, Dalton Prout, Oliver Kylington, Michael Stone
Injured:Sam Bennett (upper body)

Canucks projected lineup

Josh Leivo -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Loui Eriksson
Markus Granlund -- Adam Gaudette -- Jake Virtanen
Tim Schaller -- Jay Beagle -- Tyler Motte
Alexander Edler -- Alex Biega
Guillaume Brisebois
-- Troy Stecher
Ashton Sautner -- Luke Schenn
Jacob Markstrom
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Sven Baertschi, Nikolay Goldobin, Derrick Pouliot
Injured: Chris Tanev (undisclosed), Antoine Roussel (knee), Quinn Hughes (ankle), Ben Hutton (foot), Ryan Spooner (groin), Brandon Sutter (lower body)

Status report

Baertschi was cleared to play after missing 22 games with a concussion. … Hughes skated Saturday for the first time since signing his entry-level contract March 10, after an MRI confirmed he has a bone bruise, not a fracture.

Stat pack

Smith is 6-3-0 with a 2.14 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in his past nine starts. … Gaudreau has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past five games. … Horvat has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past six games.