Calgary @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 11, 2019 ) Florida 3, Calgary 4

The Calgary Flames have lost the top spot in the Pacific Division during their mini slump and look to begin moving in a positive direction again when they visit the fading Florida Panthers on Thursday night. The Flames saw the San Jose Sharks move ahead of them after losing four of their last five (1-3-1), capped by a disappointing effort Tuesday in a 6-3 loss at NHL-best Tampa Bay.

“Our details were nowhere near where we need to be,” Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano told reporters after the setback. “I feel we’ve let that slip in the last few (games). We’ll be ready Thursday, we’ll be a way more focused group and we really have to pull out of this.” Giordano scored and right wing Michael Frolik added a goal and two assists as the Flames defeated Florida 4-3 on Jan. 11 - during an 8-0-1 stretch - for their fifth win in the last six games during the series. The Panthers had begun to creep back into the edges of the playoff chase with a 6-2-0 run, but dropped the last two games after going 0-for-4 on the power play in a 3-0 loss to Dallas at home Tuesday. “We didn’t lose the game because we played bad in our own end or we had a ton of breakdowns,” Florida coach Bob Boughner told reporters Tuesday. “We lost the game because we didn’t generate any offense and they did.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), FS Florida

ABOUT THE FLAMES (34-16-6): Center Sean Monahan scored a pair of goals Tuesday to pull within two of matching his career high of 31 and tie linemate Johnny Gaudreau (team-high 77 points) for the team lead. Giordano, who entered Wednesday second in the league with a plus-28 rating, is one point away from tying his career high of 56 that he set in 2015-16. Forward Elias Lindholm, who skates with Monahan and Gaudreau, set up three goals Tuesday and has made the scoresheet in 12 of his last 13 games while extending his career-high point total to 64.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (23-24-8): Captain Aleksander Barkov, who leads the team with 53 points, has been kept off the scoresheet the last two games after posting two goals and four assists in the previous four. Left wing Jonathan Huberdeau (52 points) has cooled off with two assists in the last six games, but did record 13 shots on net the past three contests. Mike Hoffman leads the team with 25 goals - four away from matching his career high with Ottawa in 2015-16 - while fellow forward Frank Vatrano has six of his career-best 19 goals in his last 10 games.

OVERTIME

1. Florida LW Jamie McGinn returned from a back injury to play his first NHL game this season Tuesday and his next will be the 600th of his career.

2. Calgary’s 21-year-old LW Matthew Tkachuk played his 200th NHL contest Tuesday, but has gone six games without a point.

3. The Panthers are third in the league on the power play (25.9 percent) despite going 0-for-8 the last two games.

PREDICTION: Flames 5, Panthers 2