OILERS GAME DAY

Five storylines to watch as the Edmonton Oilers make the trek to Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome to take on the Flames in the final instalment of the Battle of Alberta. (8 p.m., MT at Scotiabank Saddledome, TV: Sportsnet, radio: 630 CHED).

MCDAVID ON MARCH

Oilers captain Connor McDavid has scored in five straight games and has 26 in his last 29 games going back to Feb. 1. With 103 points, he was six clear of Nikita Kucherov in the scoring race, and has 81 even-strength points, 21 more than his next closest pursuer, Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, all heading into Friday’s action. McDavid has 35 evenstrength goals, too.

ON A RED-HOT SEAT

Flames coach Glen Gulutzan has a club option on a third year of his contract and he may pay for Calgary’s tumble down the stretch. He’s pushed as many buttons as he can, but Gulutzan, the head man in Dallas before an assistant’s stint in Vancouver, may take the fall for the Flames’ playoff miss.

FAMILY CONCERNS

Johnny Gaudreau flew back east to be with his family after his dad suffered a cardiac attack. His dad is out of hospital now and Gaudreau, the most consistent Flames forward this season, didn’t make it for Friday’s practice after missing two games. Gaudreau is 14th in NHL scoring with 82 points, 58 of those even-strength and 20 of his 23 goals coming five-on-five.

LIMPING TO FINISH

The Flames have lost seven straight in regulation and have never lost eight in a row in a 60-minute game. But for Chris Stewart’s goal with 21 seconds left against Columbus Thursday, they would have been shut out for a fourth time in the last six games. They haven’t won a game since Mike Smith stood on his head in a 1-0 win over the Oilers at the Saddledome. No offence, and no wins after being firmly in the Pacific Division playoff race until their slide.

FOO MAKES DEBUT

After some hard work with Calgary’s AHL farm team in Stockton, Edmonton native Spencer Foo, who played junior A in Sherwood Park with Craig MacTavish’s son, Sean, before going to Union College, will get his first NHL start against his hometown team. Foo was wooed by the Oilers, Flames, Red Wings and Golden Knights as a free agent last summer, before signing with Flames.

BIG MATCHUP

Milan Lucic vs. Every NHL goalie

Milan Lucic’s season from hell continues unabated. He has one goal in his last 42 games and one snipe in his last 75 shots. Unfathomable, really. He scored Dec. 23 against Montreal, went 29 games with nary a sniff, then beat Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper March 5 with a slapper off the wing. He’s since gone 12 straight without scoring and was stoned in Vancouver. A dagger to a bloody, awful season for the Oilers’ winger.

SICK BAY

Oilers: Oscar Klefbom (shoulder surgery), Ryan NugentHopkins (lower-body), Matt Benning (upper-body); Flames: Matthew Tkachuk (concussion), Travis Hamonic (upper-body), Sean Monahan (wrist and hip), T.J. Brodie (upper-body).

SPECIAL TEAMS

Oilers: PP 14.6 per cent, (31st). PK 75.6 per cent (28th) Flames: PP 16.3 per cent (27th). PK 80.6 per cent (14th) jmatheson@postmedia.com Twitter: @NHLbyMatty