Vegas @ Calgary preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 6, 2019 ) Calgary 1, Vegas 2

The slumping Calgary Flames will try to regain first place in the Pacific Division - and their scoring touch - when they host the red-hot Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. Calgary, which has produced five goals while matching a season high with four straight losses after Thursday's 2-0 setback at Arizona, is one point behind San Jose and eight ahead of Vegas.

"We have a group here that wants to win, but it's going to take an elevation of our game,'' Flames goaltender Mike Smith told reporters after making 23 saves Thursday. "We've been good for a lot of the season, but this is the time when everyone gets a little bit better and we need to jump on board with that, too." Calgary's top offensive threats - Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm - have slowed down as they combined for 192 points in the 51 games prior to the All-Star break but 36 in 34 contests since. The Golden Knights stretched their winning streak to six games - one shy of their season high - with a 6-2 victory at Vancouver on Saturday behind Mark Stone's first goal in a Vegas uniform, and own an eight-point bulge over Arizona for third in the Pacific. The Golden Knights have won the last two meetings - including 2-1 at home on Wednesday - with Marc-Andre Fleury stopping a combined 62-of-63 shots, improving to 12-4-1 with a 2.09 goals-against average and .930 save percentage against the Flames.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Vegas), Sportsnet One (Calgary)

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (38-26-5): Stone (29 goals, 66 points this season) signed an eight-year, $76 million extension Friday and celebrated with a goal and an assist against Vancouver, giving him four points in six games since he was traded by Ottawa. Fleury made 29 saves in winning his league-leading 34th game Saturday, moving him past Jacques Plante and into eighth place all-time with 438. Jonathan Marchessault (20 goals) had an assist Saturday to push his total to 47 points and fellow forward Alex Tuch tied him for the team lead after notching his 18th goal and a pair of helpers.

ABOUT THE FLAMES (41-20-7): Johnny Gaudreau (team-high 84 points) matched a career high with four points in Calgary's 7-2 victory over Vegas on Nov. 19 - a feat he has accomplished three times since, but has been kept off the scoresheet in the last two games. Sean Monahan (72 points), who shares the team lead in goals (30) with Gaudreau, had a five-game point streak snapped Thursday and has scored only once in the last 12 contests. Lindholm (26 goals, 72 points) has been kept off the scoresheet during the losing streak while Matthew Tkachuk (26 goals) has scored only twice in 20 games.

OVERTIME

1. Monahan needs one goal to match his career high set in 2014-15 and equaled last season, Gaudreau needs one goal and one point to set personal bests while Lindholm has already set career highs in goals and points.

2. Vegas has outscored opponents 23-9 during its winning streak.

3. Calgary has killed 21-of-23 penalties in its last nine games.

PREDICTION: Flames 3, Golden Knights 2