Flames at Red Wings
THE STORY: With games against the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild on a four-game road trip, the Calgary Flames were hoping a stop at NHL-worst Columbus would help them ease into the stretch. No such luck. The Flames ran right into Curtis Sanford’s hot streak and fell behind early against the Blue Jackets, falling 4-1. Calgary has traded wins and losses over its last four games and can’t seem to put together a consistent enough offense to get out of the rut. It could be tough to break out on Wednesday against the Red Wings, who rank fifth in the league in goals against. Detroit has won two in a row and six of eight, averaging 1.75 goals allowed during that stretch.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN (Calgary), FSD (Detroit)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (8-10-1): Calgary scored a season-high five goals in a win over Chicago on Friday but then could not find a way to sneak more than one goal in against the Blue Jackets, who are last in the NHL in goals against. The Flames’ offensive issues can be partially attributed to the slow start by captain Jarome Iginla, who has just five goals and nine points through the first 19 games. Iginla is minus-9 over the last six games.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (11-7-1): With two days off between games, Jimmy Howard will likely be back between the pipes for the 13th straight game on Wednesday, trying to avenge one of his five losses this season. The 27-year old ranks fourth in the NHL with a 1.85 goals-against average but was beaten four times in a loss to the Flames earlier in the season. Offensively, Pavel Datsyuk has busted out of his slump with five points in the last three games.
OVERTIME:
1. Iginla had his best game this season in a 4-1 win at Detroit on Nov. 3, when he recorded two goals and an assist.
2. Howard is 5-3-0 with a 2.61 GAA in eight career starts against the Flames.
3. Datsyuk was held pointless in the last meeting but has 33 points in 34 career games against Calgary.