Calgary @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 12, 2018 ) Philadelphia 5, Calgary 6

Johnny Gaudreau was a die-hard Philadelphia Flyers fan while growing up in South New Jersey, but the diminutive dynamo bids to add salt into the tumbling team's growing wound on Saturday afternoon when the Calgary Flames pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center. The free-falling Flyers have dropped five in a row to reside tied with Ottawa and Los Angeles for the fewest points in the NHL.

"Johnny Be Good" is a vast understatement for Gaudreau's play of late, as the 5-foot-9, 157-pound All-Star answered consecutive four-point performances with a goal and an assist in Thursday's 6-4 setback in Boston to boost his point total to 16 (eight goals, eight assists) in his last seven contests. Gaudreau, who sits one point shy of 350 in 354 career contests, felled Philadelphia on Dec. 12 when he capped a three-point effort (one goal, two assists) by tallying 35 seconds into overtime in a 6-5 triumph in Calgary. While the Flames rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 68 seconds of regulation in that contest, the Flyers saw their third-period comeback bid fall short on Thursday as they dropped a 5-3 decision to lose to Carolina for the second time in four days. "It's like quicksand right now. We're trying to get out and it feels like it's just getting deeper," forward Wayne Simmonds said.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet West (Calgary), NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE FLAMES (25-13-4): While Gaudreau leads Calgary in goals (23), assists (38) and points (61), linemate Sean Monahan has been faring quite well for himself of late with 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in his last five outings. The 24-year-old gashed Philadelphia with two goals and an assist last month while Elias Lindholm enters Saturday's matinee with a three-game goal-scoring streak and 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his last seven contests. Matthew Tkachuk registered his second four-assist performance this season in the last tilt versus the Flyers, giving him seven points (two goals, five assists) in four career meetings with the team.

ABOUT THE FLYERS (15-20-5): Captain Claude Giroux, who leads the team in assists (33) and points (46), set up a pair of tallies in the first clash with Calgary and accomplished the same feat against the Hurricanes to extend his home point streak to eight games (two goals, 11 assists). Sean Couturier (club-best 15 goals) and James van Riemsdyk each scored against Carolina, with the former collecting two goals and an assist in the first encounter with Calgary while the latter also tallied. "Obviously we expected much better, but you are what your record says you are," said the 29-year-old van Riemsdyk, who has just six goals in 2018-19 after signing a five-year, $35 million contract in the offseason.

OVERTIME

1. Philadelphia rookie G Carter Hart is expected to draw the start with fellow G Michal Neuvirth nursing an undisclosed injury.

2. Calgary C Mark Jankowski's seven short-handed points (four goals, three assists) are the most in the NHL.

3. Flyers C Travis Konecny is mired in a 13-game goal drought.

PREDICTION: Flames 5, Flyers 1