Flames at Stars
The Calgary Flames attempt to remain perfect this month when they continue their four-game road trip against the league-leading Dallas Stars on Thursday. After ending November with a three-game skid, Calgary began December with a 5-0-0 homestand and extended the winning streak to six contests with an overtime victory at Nashville on Tuesday in the opener of its trek.
The run of success has catapulted the Flames into a four-way tie for third place in the Pacific Division, one point behind San Jose for second. Dallas had its seven-game point streak (5-0-2) snapped Saturday at St. Louis but bounced back with a 5-1 home triumph over Columbus three nights later. The Stars have won four in a row and seven of their last eight at American Airlines Center, scoring five or more goals on three occasions. Dallas dropped a 4-3 shootout decision at Calgary on Dec. 1, taking a 3-0 lead into the third period before squandering it.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Calgary), FSN Southwest Plus (Dallas)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (14-14-2): Calgary will be without Michael Frolik, who is expected to miss at least three games with an upper-body injury he suffered Tuesday. The 27-year-old Czech, who will be replaced in the lineup by Josh Jooris, has recorded seven goals and nine assists over 30 games in his first season with the Flames. "(Frolik) is a big part of this team. He's been playing great for us," Jooris told the team's website. "I'm just going to try to go in there and provide a spark and try to fill his role as best I can."
ABOUT THE STARS (23-6-2): Tyler Seguin and captain Jamie Benn rank second and third, respectively, in the NHL scoring race. Seguin is four points behind league leader Patrick Kane of Chicago with 42, including seven in his last four games, and has yet to be kept off the scoresheet in consecutive contests this season. Benn, meanwhile, has gone without a point in four of his last seven matches after registering eight goals and six assists during an eight-game streak.
OVERTIME
1. Flames D TJ Brodie is riding a seven-game point streak during which he has collected two goals and six assists.
2. Benn leads the NHL with 20 goals, one more than Kane and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko.
3. Dallas is averaging a league-best 3.42 goals while Calgary is allowing an NHL-worst 3.43.