<p>The <strong>Calgary Flames (47-20-10, 104 points)</strong> enter Thursday night&#8217;s action as masters of their own destiny. A win over the <strong>Dallas Stars (43-29-5, 91 points)</strong> in any way, shape or form clinches them first place in the Pacific Division and home ice advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. A loss&#8230; well, it might just postpone that accomplishment to the weekend. It&#8217;s two teams playing their third game in four nights, with travel, which may be a recipe for sloppy, sloppy hockey.</p>
<p>The game is set for 7 p.m. MT and you can catch it on Sportsnet West, and on Sportsnet 960 The Fan!</p>
<p></p>
<h2><strong>The Flames</strong></h2>
<p>Projected lines <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/calgary-flames/line-combinations/">via Daily Faceoff</a>:</p>
<p>@Johnny Gaudreau &#8211; @Elias Lindholm &#8211; @Matthew Tkachuk<br />
@Andrew Mangiapane &#8211; @Mikael Backlund &#8211; @Tyler Toffoli<br />
@Dillon Dube &#8211; @Calle Jarnkrok &#8211; @Blake Coleman<br />
@Milan Lucic &#8211; @Trevor Lewis &#8211; @Brett Ritchie</p>
<p>@Noah Hanifin &#8211; @Rasmus Andersson<br />
@Oliver Kylington &#8211; @Chris Tanev<br />
@Nikita Zadorov &#8211; @Erik Gudbranson</p>
<p>@Jacob Markstrom is expected to start in net, backed up by @Daniel Vladar. The projected scratches are @Adam Ruzicka, @Connor Mackey, @Michael Stone and @Ryan Carpenter.</p>
<p>The Flames are riding a run where they&#8217;ve won seven of their last nine games (7-1-1), despite dealing with injuries, illness and the late-season malaise that can sometimes creep into a team&#8217;s game when they&#8217;ve clinched a playoff spot and are just trying to kill time until the playoffs. Darryl Sutter is likely hoping for some consistency and intensity from his group, particularly facing a potential playoff foe.</p>
<p>Keep an eye on Johnny Gaudreau, a stone&#8217;s throw from the league lead in scoring, and Matthew Tkachuk, one point away from 100 on the season.</p>
<h2><strong>The Stars<br />
</strong></h2>
<p>Projected lines <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/dallas-stars/line-combinations/">via Daily Faceoff</a>:</p>
<p>@Jason Robertson &#8211; @Roope Hintz &#8211; @Joe Pavelski<br />
@Jacob Peterson &#8211; @Tyler Seguin &#8211; @Denis Gurianov<br />
@Marian Studenic &#8211; @Jamie Benn &#8211; @Alexander Radulov<br />
@Michael Raffl &#8211; @Radek Faksa &#8211; @Luke Glendening</p>
<p>@Ryan Suter &#8211; @Miro Heiskanen<br />
@Esa Lindell &#8211; @John Klingberg<br />
@Joel Hanley &#8211; @Jani Hakanpaa</p>
<p>@Jake Oettinger starts for the Stars, backed up by @Scott Wedgewood. The projected scratches are @Thomas Harley, @Andrej Sekera, @Joel Kirivanta and @Fredrik Karlstrom.</p>
<p>The Stars are a desperate group. They played in Vancouver on Monday (and lost) and in Edmonton on Wednesday (and lost), and suddenly they&#8217;re one of a few teams with Vegas breathing down their necks for a playoff spot. Dallas is a savvy veteran team that&#8217;s managed to avoid prolonged slumps for much of this season, and they&#8217;re hoping they can bounce back against the Flames.</p>
<h2><strong>The numbers</strong></h2>
<table style="height: 154px" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px"></td>
<td style="height: 22px">Calgary</td>
<td style="height: 22px">Dallas</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Wins</td>
<td style="height: 22px">47</td>
<td style="height: 22px">43</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Points (%)</td>
<td style="height: 22px">104 (.675)</td>
<td style="height: 22px">91 (.591)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Adjusted Corsi For</td>
<td style="height: 22px">57.4%</td>
<td style="height: 22px">49.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Expected Goals For</td>
<td style="height: 22px">55.4%</td>
<td style="height: 22px">50.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Power Play</td>
<td style="height: 22px">23.3%</td>
<td style="height: 22px">22.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Penalty Kill</td>
<td style="height: 22px">84.0%</td>
<td style="height: 22px">79.4%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2><strong>Unfit to play</strong></h2>
<p>The Flames are without Sean Monahan.</p>
<p>The Stars are without Anton Khudobin, Braden Holtby and Vladislav Namestnikov.</p>
<h2><strong>When last we met</strong></h2>
<p>This is the third of three meetings between these teams this season. The Flames have captured three of a possible four points via an overtime loss and a regulation win.</p>
<h2><strong>Know thy enemy</strong></h2>
<p>Your recommended Twitter follows for tonight&#8217;s contest:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/MDeFranks">Matthew DeFranks</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/taylordbaird">Taylor Baird</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/SaadYousuf126">Saad Yousuf</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://t.co/d3wLtENE96">THIS GAME DAY ARTICLE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CALGARY FLAMES KEYBOARD</a></h2>
<p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Ultimate </span><span class="r-18u37iz">Flames</span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"> Fan? Connect 24/7 with the FREE official keyboard! Get</span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"> team updates, exclusive deals &amp; much more! </span></p>
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<h2><a href="https://flamesnation.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://flamesnation.ca/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1643426444783000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0ZoMy36-f05a90iD5z8D6E" data-wpel-link="internal"><strong>More from FlamesNation</strong></a></h2>
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<li><a href="https://flamesnation.ca/2022/04/10/gaudreau-flames-franchise-scoring-leaders/" rel="v:url follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Johnny Gaudreau stacks up well against historic Calgary Flames scoring leaders</a></li>
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The <strong>Calgary Flames (47-20-10, 104 points)</strong> enter Thursday night's action as masters of their own destiny. A win over the <strong>Dallas Stars (43-29-5, 91 points)</strong> in any way, shape or form clinches them first place in the Pacific Division and home ice advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. A loss... well, it might just postpone that accomplishment to the weekend. It's two teams playing their third game in four nights, with travel, which may be a recipe for sloppy, sloppy hockey.

The game is set for 7 p.m. MT and you can catch it on Sportsnet West, and on Sportsnet 960 The Fan!


<h2><strong>The Flames</strong></h2>
Projected lines <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/calgary-flames/line-combinations/">via Daily Faceoff</a>:

@Johnny Gaudreau - @Elias Lindholm - @Matthew Tkachuk
@Andrew Mangiapane - @Mikael Backlund - @Tyler Toffoli
@Dillon Dube - @Calle Jarnkrok - @Blake Coleman
@Milan Lucic - @Trevor Lewis - @Brett Ritchie

@Noah Hanifin - @Rasmus Andersson
@Oliver Kylington - @Chris Tanev
@Nikita Zadorov - @Erik Gudbranson

@Jacob Markstrom is expected to start in net, backed up by @Daniel Vladar. The projected scratches are @Adam Ruzicka, @Connor Mackey, @Michael Stone and @Ryan Carpenter.

The Flames are riding a run where they've won seven of their last nine games (7-1-1), despite dealing with injuries, illness and the late-season malaise that can sometimes creep into a team's game when they've clinched a playoff spot and are just trying to kill time until the playoffs. Darryl Sutter is likely hoping for some consistency and intensity from his group, particularly facing a potential playoff foe.

Keep an eye on Johnny Gaudreau, a stone's throw from the league lead in scoring, and Matthew Tkachuk, one point away from 100 on the season.
<h2><strong>The Stars
</strong></h2>
Projected lines <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/dallas-stars/line-combinations/">via Daily Faceoff</a>:

@Jason Robertson - @Roope Hintz - @Joe Pavelski
@Jacob Peterson - @Tyler Seguin - @Denis Gurianov
@Marian Studenic - @Jamie Benn - @Alexander Radulov
@Michael Raffl - @Radek Faksa - @Luke Glendening

@Ryan Suter - @Miro Heiskanen
@Esa Lindell - @John Klingberg
@Joel Hanley - @Jani Hakanpaa

@Jake Oettinger starts for the Stars, backed up by @Scott Wedgewood. The projected scratches are @Thomas Harley, @Andrej Sekera, @Joel Kirivanta and @Fredrik Karlstrom.

The Stars are a desperate group. They played in Vancouver on Monday (and lost) and in Edmonton on Wednesday (and lost), and suddenly they're one of a few teams with Vegas breathing down their necks for a playoff spot. Dallas is a savvy veteran team that's managed to avoid prolonged slumps for much of this season, and they're hoping they can bounce back against the Flames.
<h2><strong>The numbers</strong></h2>
<table style="height: 154px" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px"></td>
<td style="height: 22px">Calgary</td>
<td style="height: 22px">Dallas</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Wins</td>
<td style="height: 22px">47</td>
<td style="height: 22px">43</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Points (%)</td>
<td style="height: 22px">104 (.675)</td>
<td style="height: 22px">91 (.591)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Adjusted Corsi For</td>
<td style="height: 22px">57.4%</td>
<td style="height: 22px">49.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Expected Goals For</td>
<td style="height: 22px">55.4%</td>
<td style="height: 22px">50.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Power Play</td>
<td style="height: 22px">23.3%</td>
<td style="height: 22px">22.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px">
<td style="height: 22px">Penalty Kill</td>
<td style="height: 22px">84.0%</td>
<td style="height: 22px">79.4%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2><strong>Unfit to play</strong></h2>
The Flames are without Sean Monahan.

The Stars are without Anton Khudobin, Braden Holtby and Vladislav Namestnikov.
<h2><strong>When last we met</strong></h2>
This is the third of three meetings between these teams this season. The Flames have captured three of a possible four points via an overtime loss and a regulation win.
<h2><strong>Know thy enemy</strong></h2>
Your recommended Twitter follows for tonight's contest:
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://twitter.com/MDeFranks">Matthew DeFranks</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://twitter.com/taylordbaird">Taylor Baird</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://twitter.com/SaadYousuf126">Saad Yousuf</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://t.co/d3wLtENE96">THIS GAME DAY ARTICLE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CALGARY FLAMES KEYBOARD</a></h2>
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Ultimate </span><span class="r-18u37iz">Flames</span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"> Fan? Connect 24/7 with the FREE official keyboard! Get</span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"> team updates, exclusive deals &amp; much more! </span>

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-94319 size-full" src="https://flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/FLAMES-NATION-ARTICLE-IMAGE.png" alt="" width="720" height="300" />
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 	<li><a href="https://flamesnation.ca/2022/04/10/gaudreau-flames-franchise-scoring-leaders/" rel="v:url follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Johnny Gaudreau stacks up well against historic Calgary Flames scoring leaders</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://flamesnation.ca/2022/04/09/calgary-flames-2022-draft-first-pick/" rel="v:url follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Who might the Calgary Flames draft with their first pick in 2022?</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://flamesnation.ca/2022/04/08/points-against-every-other-team/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">The Flames have earned points against every other NHL team this season</a></li>
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