Canadiens at Flames
The Calgary Flames can match their longest winning streak since relocating north of the border when they host another red-hot team in the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. The surging Flames have reeled off seven consecutive wins, one shy of the club record established on three occasions -- the last coming in 2005 -- since moving to Calgary in 1980.
Since dropping a 5-1 decision at Montreal that extended their losing streak to four games, the Flames are 12-2-1 to climb within two points of Edmonton and Anaheim for second place in the Pacific Division. "You have to pile on as many points as you can on these streaks, but keep trying to get better," Calgary captain Mark Giordano said. "The key now for us is to not let any parts of our games slip." There certainly has been no slippage on the part of the Canadiens, who ran their winning streak to six with a 2-1 overtime victory at Vancouver on Tuesday night. Four of those wins have come in overtime for Atlantic Division-leading Montreal, which has yielded eight goals during its tear.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet East, RDS (Montreal), Sportsnet West (Calgary)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (38-21-8): Carey Price, who came within two seconds of a shutout in a 5-1 win over Calgary on Jan 24, is fueling Montreal's hot streak with best stretch since the opening three weeks of the season. The NHL's Third Star of the Week, Price has permitted five goals while winning his last five starts and hasn't allowed more than two tallies in his last eight appearances. Ex-Flames forward Paul Byron has delivered a pair of dramatic winning goals over the past three contests.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (36-26-4): Calgary's best offensive players, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, have raised their games along with linemate Micheal Ferland during the seven-game run. Ferland has scored five of his 13 goals during the winning streal, a span in which Gaudreau has amassed two goals and seven assists and Monahan has contributed a pair of tallies and six assists. Not to be overlooked is netminder Brian Elliott, who has won six straight starts and yielded eight goals in his last five.
OVERTIME
1. Calgary is only 2-for-30 on the power play over the past 11 games.
2. Price is 4-5-0 with a 2.76 goals-against average versus the Flames.
3. The franchise record for the Flames is a 10-game winning streak in 1978, when the team was based in Atlanta.