Lightning at Flames preview

LIGHTNING (34-13-3) at FLAMES (25-17-8)
9 p.m. ET; SN360, SUN, NHL.TV

The Flames are 0-1-4 following a seven-game winning streak, but have points in 11 of their past 12 games. Calgary has held a lead in each of its past five losses.
The Lightning, who have the NHL's best record with 71 points, will try to win for the fourth time in five games; they're 3-1-0 in their past four games after going 2-4-1 in their previous seven. Tampa Bay is playing the sixth of eight straight road games; it leads the League with 17 wins away from home.

Players to watch

Lightning center Brayden Point has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past eight games.
Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk has 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in his past 12 games.

They said it

"There's no easy game in this league and to win a game, you have to bring your best effort every night. That's what we're trying to get back to is really competing for 60 minutes and being really on top of the opposite team." -- Lightning forward Yanni Gourde
"We've just got to push forward. The guys know what's happened the last few weeks. We're right here in the moment. We know the way a season can swing. It's kind of been a tough stretch for sure. But at the same time … we're in a new month now." -- Flames center Matt Stajan

Lightning projected lineup

Vladislav Namestnikov -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Yanni Gourde -- Brayden Point -- Tyler Johnson
Chris Kunitz -- Cedric Paquette -- Ryan Callahan
Alex Killorn -- Matthew Peca -- Michael Bournival
Victor Hedman -- Jake Dotchin
Mikhail Sergachev -- Anton Stralman
Braydon Coburn -- Dan Girardi
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Scratched:Cory Conacher, Andrej Sustr, Slater Koekkoek
Injured: Ondrej Palat (lower body), Peter Budaj (lower body)

Flames projected lineup

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

Status report

The Lightning and Flames each held an optional morning skate Thursday. … Calgary will not make any changes to its lineup.

Stat pack

Stamkos has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past three games. … Johnson has three assists in his past six games after having 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) in his previous 18 games. … Smith is 6-1-3 with a 1.96 goals-against average in his past 10 starts, and has held opponents to two goals or fewer in seven of his past 10 starts. … Gaudreau has two assists in his past five games after having 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in a seven-game point streak.