FGD 82: One more Battle of Alberta (8pm MT, CBC)

As they prepare for the playoffs, the Flames will close out their regular season against some old friends.

The Calgary Flames (50-24-7, 107 points) host the Edmonton Oilers (34-38-9, 77 points) in their final game of the 2018-19 regular season at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The game means absolutely nothing for either team, and only Edmonton’s draft lottery placement is at stake.

The puck drops at 8 p.m. on CBC, Sportsnet One, the regional Sportsnet channels (except West) and Sportsnet 960 The Fan. The Flames opened as a moderate (-195) favourite on OddsShark’s moneyline.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Mike Smith starts for the Flames, backed up by David Rittich. Sam Bennett (upper body) is out, Matthew Tkachuk (unspecified) is out, Sean Monahan (illness) is a game-time decision, while the scratches are Michael Stone, Oliver Kylington and Juuso Valimaki. If Monahan’s out, Dillon Dube likely dresses in his spot. (Stick-tap to Sportsnet 960 The Fan’s Derek Wills on the Tkachuk news.)

The choice for tonight for the Flames is whether to go with 11 forwards and seven defenders (and give their left wings extra reps) and dress Dalton Prout, or to go with Alan Quine and a more traditional lineup. Per our pal Pat Steinberg, it appears that Prout will be in this evening.

The Flames are dressing more or less their Game One grouping, aside from no Tkachuk, Monahan or Bennett. But it’s a chance to get their legs going once again against a fairly talented group. Johnny Gaudreau enters the evening with 98 points and a shot at triple digits. Expect that to be a theme for the game.

Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:

Mikko Koskinen starts for the Oilers, backed up by Anthony Stolarz. The expected scratches are Kevin Gravel, Alex Petrovic, Jujhar Khaira and Kyle Brodziak. The Oilers didn’t skate this morning, so this is entirely a guess.

The Oilers are playing for pride and trying to get goals for Tobias Rieder (his first of the year) and Leon Draisaitl (his 50th of the year). Beyond that, they’re just trying to get through three more periods without too much pain.

The Flames are without Sam Bennett, but he’s expected to be available for Game One.

The Oilers are without Jesse Puljujarvi.

This is the final regular season game between these two teams. The Flames have won two of three games, with the lone loss being on Dec. 9 – the back half of a back-to-back where the Flames were missing Mark Giordano (suspension) and Mikael Backlund (injury) and lost 1-0.

Your Oilers Twitter follows for tonight:

From peewee to the pros, Albertans love the atmosphere, energy, and life lessons that take place at rinks across the province. And where there’s an arena, you’ll find an ATB branch nearby—with our team members cheering and fundraising along with you. See more information at ATB.com.