Preview: Calgary Flames @ Dallas Stars 12/6/16 (29/82)

The Flames travel to Dallas tonight and will try to even the season series between these two teams at 1-1 with a win tonight, while also extending their winning streak to 4 games. Dallas took the last meeting between these teams 4-2 back on November 10th. The Flames have won 7 out of their last 11 and are working their way up the Pacific Division and Western Conference, leap frogging Dallas in the West. Two points separates these two Conference rivals and a win would give Calgary some much needed breathing room in the playoff picture.

The Flames Achilles heel all season has been their special teams, but that has been changing lately. The Flames have killed off 25 of their last 27 penalties and have 3 PP goals in their last 8 attempts. Johnny Gaudreau is back in the Flames lineup after missing 2 ¹⁄₂ weeks with a broken finger. Sean Monahan has started to heat up and Chad Johnson has played himself into the #1 goaltender spot by giving up only 14 goals in his last 8 starts. For years the Flames had struggled in Dallas, but since 2010 the Flames hold a 7-6-0 record when visiting Big D.

The Stars need these 2 points to keep pace with the Flames and stay within striking distance. Dallas sits in 7th place in the West and is starting to falter just as Calgary is getting going. Dallas has dropped 6 out of their last 10 and while they can put the puck in the net with ease, keeping it out has been a real problem. In their last 5 loses the Stars have surrendered 18 goals and they have given up a league high 85 goals on the season.

Here’s how the teams match-up:

Calgary Flames 8 Anaheim Ducks 3

The Flames last took to the ice on Sunday night and what a way to end the week. Calgary manhandled the Anaheim Ducks 8-3 in a game that wasn’t really as close as the score indicates. Johnny Gaudreau returned to the Flames lineup (1G 1 A) and the Flames looked like a completely different team. Here’s our recap, the highlights, Gaudreau’s post game and the stats from the contest.

Dallas Stars 3 Colorado Avalanche 0

The Dallas Stars found themselves at the end of a 4 game road trip in desperate need of a win and got one, besting the Colorado Avalanche 3-0. Dallas got a 2 point night out of Tyler Seguin and Kari Lehtonen stopped all 23 shots he faced to get the Stars a W. Defending Big D has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Players To Watch

Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Calgary Flames: Sean Monahan (C). Monahan seems to be turning the corner after a dreadful start to the season. The young centre has 5 points in his last 4 games, including a 2 point effort against the Ducks and the game winner in the shoot out against Minnesota. Monahan had 1 point (assist) in the Flames 4-2 loss to Dallas this season and in his last 9 games against the Stars he has 6 points.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Stars: Tyler Seguin (C). Seguin, like Monahan, has 5 points in his last 4 games as well. He’s played much better on the road, as only 9 of his 27 points have come on home ice. Seguin was held to only 1 point in Dallas’ 4-2 win over the Flames earlier this season and he struggled last year going pointless against Calgary. Prior to that Seguin had 10 points in his last 6 meetings with the Flames.