Preview: Flames at Sharks

FLAMES (17-15-2) at SHARKS (19-12-1)
10:30 p.m. ET; SNW, CSN-CA, NHL.TV

Flames team scope

Goaltender Chad Johnson will start for the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. Backup Brian Elliott made 25 saves in a 4-2 victory against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Monday. "Back-to-back, travel and getting in late," coach Glen Gulutzan said. "[Johnson's] played in the building this year. It wasn't a real tough decision." The Flames are 7-2-0 in their past nine games, and Johnson is 6-2-0 in his past eight starts. He had a six-game winning streak before giving up a combined eight goals on 50 shots in losses to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets. Johnson (13-6-1) is 2-0-1 in his career against the San Jose Sharks and made 26 saves in a 3-2 victory against them on Nov. 3 at SAP Center. "Especially this year. it's tough to play every game," Johnson said. "The schedule's so condensed. For me, you take what you can from watching. ... You can analyze plays. I'm always ready and always engaged, even when I'm on the bench. It's good to watch and sort of regroup and get rested for tonight's game." The Flames have scored 32 goals over their past nine games, 13 of them on the power play. They've scored at least one power-play goal in eight straight games (13-for-33) and had three with the man-advantage against the Coyotes. Calgary did not have a morning skate.

Sharks team scope

Center Joe Thornton will play his 1,400th NHL game when the Sharks open a two-game homestand after going 3-0-1 on a road trip. He will become the 37th player in NHL history to play 1,400 or more games, fifth among active players, joining Sharks forward Patrick Marleau, Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr, Colorado Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla and Coyotes forward Shane Doan. "I think when your career's over you'll probably look at it a little bit more, but right now you're still in the moment, you just try to get the two points," Thornton said after the morning skate. "It goes by so quick. Just enjoy every minute of it." Veteran forward Joel Ward, who has two goals and seven assists in 31 games, will be a healthy scratch for the second time in three games, and Micheal Haley will return to the lineup on the fourth line. Defenseman David Schlemko will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season, and Dylan DeMelo will skate on the third pair with Brenden Dillon. "We've got a lot of bodies here, a lot of options and tough decisions to make," coach Peter DeBoer said. Rookie forward Timo Meier, who made his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, will play his third NHL game, first at SAP Center. "It's going to be awesome," Meier said. "Just go out there, keep improving on my game, work hard and enjoy it."

Flames projected lineup

Kris Versteeg -- Sean Monahan -- Troy Brouwer
Johnny Gaudreau -- Sam Bennett -- Alex Chiasson
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Michael Frolik
Micheal Ferland -- Matt Stajan -- Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano -- Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie -- Dennis Wideman
Jyrki Jokipakka -- Deryk Engelland
Chad Johnson
Brian Elliott
Scratched:Freddie Hamilton, Lance Bouma, Tyler Wotherspoon
Injured:Ladislav Smid (neck)

Sharks projected lineup

Patrick Marleau -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Kevin Labanc -- Logan Couture -- Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Joonas Donskoi
Micheal Haley -- Tommy Wingels -- Melker Karlsson
Paul Martin -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Matt Nieto, Joel Ward, David Schlemko
Injured:Tomas Hertl (knee)

Status report

Gulutzan said he'll have some "game-time decisions" on his forward lines because of a few minor injuries. Versteeg missed some time Monday after taking an elbow from Coyotes forward Jamie McGinn in the second period, but he returned and scored the game-winning goal in the third on the power play. … Karlsson, who left midway through the third period of the Sharks' 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday after taking a hit to the head, passed the concussion protocol and will play. ... Jones will make his 29th start of the season.

Who's hot

Burns has nine points (four goals, five assists) in an eight-game point streak. … Monahan has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in a 10-game point streak. … Gaudreau has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in a seven-game point streak since his return from a fractured finger.