Calgary Flames (29-23-9) at Dallas Stars (40-19-2)
When: Thursday, 6 p.m. MT, American Airlines Center
TV: Sportsnet One. Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan
Odds: Flames +220, Stars -275
The buzz
It’s their final stop on their longest road trip of the season.
It’s their final outing before the NHL’s trade deadline.
Can the Flames, 2-2-1 on these travels, wrap this six-game sojourn with a winning record? And will there be any new passengers — or any empty seats — on the flight home?
The Flames are feeling good about themselves after Tuesday’s offensive outburst in Philadelphia, where they matched their season-high with six snipes. Connor Zary tallied twice, with Nazem Kadri, Yegor Sharangovich, MacKenzie Weegar and Matt Coronato adding singles.
That could be an important confidence-booster as they ready for the typically tough task of trying to solve Jake Oettinger.
The Stars have, of late, been on an absolute tear. In fact, they boast the NHL’s best record since the calendar flipped to 2025, going 18-6-1 over that stretch. They’re averaging a league-best 3.72 snipes per night during that span.
Thursday’s hosts have already done some of their trade tinkering, acquiring Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from San Jose before the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The quote
“It’s nice to score some goals. Obviously, it’s been a tough stretch. Especially when you get out to a start like that, it’s huge and it kinda gives you the confidence right away. I don’t know if we’re going to be scoring that many every game, but if we can get a couple … I think we play pretty well defensively and we have two great goalies, so we’ll win more games if we can put a couple more in the net.”
— Flames centre Morgan Frost after Tuesday’s 6-3 victory over the Flyers
The news
• Flames’ road-trip stats so far: Two wins, two regulation losses, one overtime defeat, 10 goals for, a dozen goals against and more than 8,500 kilometres travelled.
• Nazem Kadri has scored in back-to-back games to boost his season total to 22. That puts the Flames’ first-line centre on pace for a shot at 30 goals. He stalled at 29 in 2023-24.
• The Flames do not have fond memories of their most recent trip to the Big D. They were on the wrong end of a 6-2 thumping in mid-December. Thomas Harley, who made a name for himself as a late add to Canada’s blue-line at the 4 Nations Face-Off, led the locals that evening with a pair of tallies.
• The Stars are without stud defenceman Miro Heiskanen, who is recovering from knee surgery. The club is hopeful he can return for the playoffs.
• In six games since he represented Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Stars centre Roope Hintz has racked up 14 points. That includes 11 assists.
• Check back after Thursday’s morning skates for lineup updates. Are we expecting Connor Zary to remain on Calgary’s top trio, and does that mean Matt Coronato will be working on the fourth unit? And do the Flames stick with Dustin Wolf between the pipes or tap Dan Vladar for what would be his 100th career crease-call?
The projected lineup
Forwards
Huberdeau-Kadri-Zary
Farabee-Backlund-Coleman
Sharangovich-Frost-Pospisil
Lomberg-Rooney-Coronato
Defence
Bahl-Andersson
Hanley-Weegar
Bean-Pachal
Goalies
Wolf
Vladar
The injuries
Justin Kirkland (knee) and Anthony Mantha (knee) are both out for the season.