Flames at Sabres
THE STORY: The Calgary Flames are a hard team to peg right now. They couldn't have looked any worse in a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night, then promptly went into Detroit two nights later and dominated the Red Wings. The inconsistent Flames look for their fourth win in five games Friday as they resume their East Coast road swing with a game against the Buffalo Sabres. The Flames kicked off their three-game trek in style, getting two much-needed goals from Jarome Iginla in the 4-1 victory over the Red Wings. The two-goal performance equaled Iginla's entire output from the first 10 games of the season, and could be a sign that the notoriously slow starter is beginning to warm up. The Sabres have faced their own consistency issues. After being retooled in the offseason with an eye toward a conference championship, Buffalo has dropped four of five and is in danger of falling to the .500 mark.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet West, MSG
ABOUT THE FLAMES (5-5-1): The alarms are off in Calgary - at least for now - thanks to a sensational effort against the struggling Red Wings. The Flames broke out of a 2-for-27 slump on the power play with a pair of man-advantage goals, the second coming into an empty net. Continuing that success against the Sabres will be difficult; Buffalo has the league's best penalty-killing unit, allowing just three power-play goals in 40 opportunities.
ABOUT THE SABRES (6-5-0): Head coach Lindy Ruff chided his team for failing to play a full 60 minutes in a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday - a trend that has plagued the Sabres throughout its recent cold spell. Buffalo fell behind 3-0 early against the Flyers and, despite outplaying them for the remaining 20 minutes, couldn't get back to even. Buffalo will be without forward Patrick Kaleta, who was suspended four games for a head-butt earlier in the week.
OVERTIME:
1. Calgary prevailed 5-2 in the teams' only meeting last season. The home team has won the last five head-to-head encounters and 10 of 11 overall.
2. Iginla has traditionally been strong in November, with 175 points in 189 games over his career. Only March (190 points) has been a more productive month.