3 Keys: Flames at Stars, Game 4 of Western First Round

(1P) Flames at (WC1) Stars
9:30 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, TVAS, SN, BSSW
Dallas leads best-of-7 series 2-1

The Calgary Flames could make a change on their second and fourth forward lines when they play the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center on Monday.
Left wing Andrew Mangiapane would move from the second line to right wing on the fourth line, joining left wing Milan Lucic and center Trevor Lewis. Brett Ritchie would take Mangiapane's spot on the second line, joining center Mikael Backlund and right wing Tyler Toffoli.
"Don't know until game time, right? But 'Lew' and 'Looch' are great players, obviously they're two veteran guys," said Mangiapane, who scored 55 points (35 goals, 20 assists) in 82 regular-season games but does not have a point in three postseason games.
RELATED: [Complete Flames vs Stars series coverage]
"We'll see what happens and what the lines are, but those guys are two good players. I'm sure we could create some good offense down low, grinding, be good on the forecheck, things like that. We can keep it simple."
The past two games have been decided by two goals, but in each, the Stars scored an empty-net goal. Dallas led the NHL in winning 28 games by one goal in the regular season.
"I mean, we knew they were going to be tight," Stars forward Jamie Benn said. "We played a lot of tight games this whole year, it's just bearing down and getting the job done in those tight games."
Teams that take a 3-1 lead hold an all-time series record of 296-30 (90.8 percent) in a best-of-7 NHL playoff series, including 5-1 in the 2021 playoffs.
Here are 3 keys for Game 4:

1. Heiskanen thriving

Miro Heiskanen has played very well through the first three games, but Stars coach Rick Bowness said the defenseman was at his best in Game 3. The 22-year-old logged a game-high 26:08 of ice time and had two assists, four shots on goal, two hits and two blocked shots. The Stars would like to see the same effort in Game 4.
"I thought that was his best game for a while, skating with the puck, hanging onto the puck," Bowness said. "That's the Miro we need to see."

2. Gaudreau liking chances

Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau was disappointed he didn't score on a breakaway opportunity with 3:33 remaining in regulation and the Stars leading 3-2 in Game 3. But Gaudreau, who had five shots on goal in that game, believes he'll cash in soon.
"I had a lot of chances [in Game 3], five, six shots, a couple of them were pretty Grade-A opportunities," Gaudreau said. "I'm happy I'm getting those looks and obviously I'll find the net there eventually. But obviously you know you want that one back for sure."
Gaudreau, who has two assists in three games in the series, was tied for second in the NHL in scoring during the regular season with 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists) in 82 games.

3. Goals remain at a premium

There have been some high-scoring series in the playoffs, but this isn't one of them. The Stars and Flames are the two lowest-scoring teams in the postseason, with Dallas ranked 15th (2.00 goals per game) and Calgary ranked last (1.00).
Part of that has been great goaltending. Jake Oettinger is 2-1 with a 1.01 goals-against average, .969 save percentage and one shutout for the Stars and Jacob Markstrom is 1-2 with a 1.36 GAA, .942 save percentage and one shutout for the Flames.
"I know the scoring hasn't been great, but if you're on the ice, those games are hard to play," Bowness said. "It's intense out there and goal scoring is down, and the goaltending has been outstanding."

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Elias Lindholm -- Matthew Tkachuk
Brett Ritchie -- Mikael Backlund -- Tyler Toffoli
Dillon Dube -- Calle Jarnkrok -- Blake Coleman
Milan Lucic -- Trevor Lewis -- Andrew Mangiapane
Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson
Oliver Kylington -- Chris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Gudbranson
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
Scratched: Adam Ruzicka, Ryan Carpenter, Michael Stone, Connor Mackey
Injured: None

Stars projected lineup

Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski
Michael Raffl -- Jamie Benn -- Denis Gurianov
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Radek Faksa -- Luke Glendening
Joel Kiviranta -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Ryan Suter -- Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Joel Hanley -- Jani Hakanpää
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched:Thomas Harley, Jacob Peterson, Andrej Sekera, Marián Studenič
Injured:None

Status report

Radulov will return after being a healthy scratch for Game 3. He replaces Studenic, who played Saturday.