Calgary @ Ottawa preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2018 ) Calgary 2, Ottawa 1

Having regained their mojo following a perfect three-game homestand, the Calgary Flames hope to continue the momentum after struggling on their previous road trip. Winners of four in a row, the Pacific Division-leading Flames will play the first of three straight away from home when they visit the reeling Ottawa Senators on Sunday night.

High-scoring Calgary went 1-1-2 on its last road trip before permitting a scant five goals in wins over Arizona, the New York Islanders and Anaheim. "It felt like a playoff game. I thought our team handled it really well," Flames goaltender Mike Smith told reporters after the 2-1 win over the Ducks on Friday. "Just shows we can play a different style of game." The league-worst Senators are in full-fledged rebuilding mode, trading Ryan Dzingel to Columbus on Saturday one day after shipping fellow forward Matt Duchene to the Blue Jackets. One subplot to the game is the first matchup at any level between the Tkachuk brothers - former first-round picks Matthew of Calgary and Brady of Ottawa.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVA, Sportsnet (Calgary, Ottawa)

ABOUT THE FLAMES (38-16-7): While Calgary entered play Saturday with a league-high five players posting at least 58 points, it is getting solid production from the fourth line of Andrew Mangiapane, Garnet Hathaway and Derek Ryan. Rookie Mangiapane delivered the decisive tally with 3 1/2 minutes to play Friday for his third goal in seven contests after he went scoreless in his first 26 NHL games. "Every game it's grown for me," Mangiapane told reporters. "Playing with (Ryan) and (Hathaway) and getting more comfortable and building chemistry. They're smart players to play with so it's easy to shoot the puck and create chances."

ABOUT THE SENATORS (22-34-5): Ottawa, shut out in consecutive games while holding Mark Stone, Duchene and Dzingel out of the lineup, picked up a lot of pieces for two players who will be unrestricted free agents after the season. Duchene and minor league defenseman Julius Bergman fetched a pair of conditional first-round draft picks and two prospects, while Dzingel and a seventh-round selection went to Columbus in exchange for Anthony Duclair and a pair of second-round picks in 2020 and 2021. Duclair, a 20-goal scorer with Arizona in 2015-16, had 11 goals and 19 points in 52 games with the Blue Jackets this season.

OVERTIME

1. Flames C Sean Monahan has goals in just one of his last 11 games and remains two shy of his career high of 31.

2. Ottawa D Thomas Chabot is plus-1 for the season despite a minus-5 combined over the last two games.

3. Flames C Mikael Backlund has two goals and four assists during a four-game point streak.

PREDICTION: Flames 4, Senators 1