Anaheim @ Calgary preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 7, 2018 ) Calgary 2, Anaheim 3

The Calgary Flames have regained their footing following a four-game winless drought and will go for their fourth consecutive victory when they wrap up a three-game homestand against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night. Calgary has reclaimed first place in the Pacific Division on the heels of the winning streak but it has won only five of the past 20 meetings against the Ducks.

The Flames surrendered 16 goals during their 0-2-2 slide but have permitted two tallies in each of their past two wins over Arizona and the New York Islanders. "We have to be that air-tight moving forward and we are capable of playing that game," Calgary coach Bill Peters said. "We need to maintain our strong offensive game while being sound defensively." Anaheim has responded well since general manager Bob Murray replaced Randy Carlyle behind the bench, winning three of four following a woeful seven-game losing streak. "I think when you stick together through a time like we went through, you come out of it on the other side a closer team and a better team because of it," center Ryan Kesler said.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS West (Anaheim), Sportsnet West (Calgary)

ABOUT THE DUCKS (24-27-9): Forward Jakob Silfverberg has been mentioned as a potential trade target leading up to Monday's deadline, but he will be staying put after agreeing to terms on a five-year contract extension worth a reported $5 million annually. The 28-year-old Silfverberg, who scored a career-high 23 goals in 2016-17, is up to 16 on the season after scoring four times in the past four games. Ryan Miller, who returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing more than two months due to injury, has been impressive in winning both his starts, including a 31-save performance in his first shutout of the season.

ABOUT THE FLAMES (37-16-7): Johnny Gaudreau and Calgary's top offensive players had been struggling but he put an end to a nine-game goal drought by scoring his 30th against the Islanders to take over the team lead and match his career high from 2015-16. Peters did some minor tinkering with his top six forwards, shifting Matthew Tkachuk alongside Gaudreau and Sean Monahan on the No. 1 unit while dropping Elias Lindholm to the second line with Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik. The Flames have received offense from an unexpected source as Austin Czarnik scored in three straight to tie his career high with five.

OVERTIME

1. Ducks C Ryan Kesler scored at Minnesota on Tuesday to end a 38-game goal drought and 25-game point drought.

2. Flames G Mike Smith has made four straight starts since David Rittich allowed six goals at Tampa Bay.

3. Anaheim assigned F Patrick Eaves to San Diego of the American Hockey League.

PREDICTION: Flames 4, Ducks 2