Toronto @ Calgary preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 4, 2019 ) Toronto 6, Calgary 2

The Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs have turned around their fortunes after making respective coaching changes last month. The two teams will look to continue surging ahead at the other's expense on Thursday when they meet in Calgary, Alberta.

Geoff Ward presided over the Flames in a 3-2 overtime victory over Buffalo on Nov. 27 as the team addressed the status of now former coach Bill Peters. Ward was handed the official tag of interim coach two days later, and the Flames followed with five more victories in as many games -- including a 5-2 triumph over Arizona on Tuesday. Toronto has done well for itself after parting ways with Mike Babcock, improving to 6-3-0 under Sheldon Keefe following a 4-1 victory over Vancouver on Tuesday. Auston Matthews opened the Maple Leafs' four-game road trip by scoring twice in a 5-2 win over St. Louis before tallying again versus the Canucks to boost his team-leading totals in goals (19) and points (34).

TV: 9 p.m. ET, TSN4 (Toronto), Sportsnet West (Calgary)

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (15-13-4): Frederik Andersen, who has yielded just 15 goals over his last eight starts (6-2-0), could be in line to vie for his 200th career victory should he get the nod against Calgary. "It just gives our team confidence," Keefe said of the 30-year-old Andersen, who denied a pair of breakaways by Vancouver. "We know if we make a mistake he's going to be there. Obviously, we don't want to have to rely on him like we did on the breakaways. It's great that he was up to the challenge for us, of course, those are game-changing saves that you need." Captain John Tavares notched his 50th career multi-goal performance after tallying twice on Tuesday.

ABOUT THE FLAMES (17-12-4): Sean Monahan scored in his fourth consecutive contest on Tuesday and carries a seven-game point streak (five goals, three assists) into Thursday's tilt, while fellow forward Derek Ryan is riding a four-game run (one goal, five assists). While those totals have been accumulated through consistent play, sparkplug Zac Rinaldo made the most of rare playing time by collecting a goal and an assist against the Coyotes. "Our whole team has worked so hard to get to this point, and the floodgates are kind of opening for us right now. It's a really good feeling for everybody," Rinaldo said.

OVERTIME

1. Toronto C Zach Hyman, who has scored four times in his last three games overall, has netted all six of his goals against Western Conference opponents.

2. Calgary LW Matthew Tkachuk, who leads the team with 27 points, is nursing an upper-body injury that caused him to sit out on Tuesday.

3. Maple Leafs C Mitch Marner has recorded two assists in back-to-back games, boosting his total to five multi-assist performances this season.

PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 4, Flames 2