Flames at Oilers
Clinging to third place in the Pacific Division, the Calgary Flames need to maintain their domination in the Battle of Alberta when they visit the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. Calgary, which holds a one-point lead over reigning Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles, has won all four meetings against the Oilers this season and goes for its seventh consecutive victory overall in the series and sixth in a row at Edmonton.
It is the finale of a five-game road trip for the Flames, who will attempt to rebound from a 4-1 drubbing in St. Louis that snapped a two-game winning streak. The Oilers had a chance give a boost to Calgary's postseason hopes but they absorbed an 8-2 beating at the hands of the Kings and have been outscored 13-3 in their last two outings following a three-game winning streak. "That was embarrassing. They treated us like a junior team," Edmonton's Jordan Eberle said after Thursday's debacle.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CBC
ABOUT THE FLAMES (42-29-7): Sean Monahan, at age 20, became the youngest player in franchise history to reach 30 goals with the lone tally in the loss at St. Louis. "Obviously, it doesn't mean much right now after a game like that," Monahan said. "But I guess putting the puck in the net in this league is tough, so it's pretty cool to get 30." Calgary made a bit of a surprise move Friday by calling up center Sam Bennett, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 draft who registered 11 goals and 13 assists in 11 games with Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League.
ABOUT THE OILERS (23-42-13): Eberle is closing the season on a strong note for Edmonton, scoring eight goals and amassing 18 points over the final 13 games to boost his team-high total to 62. The former first-round selection needs one assist to reach 40 for the second time and is three shy of his career-high 42 set in 2011-12, his second season with the club. Ben Scrivens has surrendered five goals in each of his past two starts and was yanked after two period versus Los Angeles in favor of Tyler Bunz, who allowed three goals on 12 shots in his NHL debut.
OVERTIME
1. Monahan has four goals and three assists in eight games against Edmonton.
2. Scrivens is 0-3-1 with a 3.55 goals-against average versus Calgary.
3. A win Saturday will give the Flames 22 road victories for the first time since 1988-89.