Red Wings at Flames
THE STORY: The Calgary Flames snapped a four-game losing streak on Tuesday with a victory over the Minnesota Wild, who are one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Their reward for the win? A date with another top team, the Detroit Red Wings. The Flames have finally begun to come around offensively, thanks mainly to star Jarome Iginla hitting his stride. The veteran captain scored the game winner on Tuesday and assisted on the first goal, pushing his points streak to four straight games. The Red Wings are making their way through western Canada and have split the first two games of their trip. Detroit was doubled up by Vancouver on Wednesday.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TSN (Calgary), FSD (Detroit)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (21-11-1): Wednesday marked the first time in seven games that Detroit failed to score at least three goals. The Red Wings put 40 shots on Roberto Luongo and failed to convert four power-play opportunities before dropping a 4-2 decision. Detroit continues to get offensive contributions from all of its lines, with LW Drew Miller breaking out for four goals in the last three games from the third line. Miller has joined with Danny Cleary and Darren Helm to total 13 points in the last three contests.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (15-15-4): Iginla had two multi-point games in October and November combined, but has shaken off the rust in December with four multi-point efforts. His current stretch marks the first time this season that Iginla has recorded points in four straight contests. He needs three goals to reach 500 for his career. Iginla will be gunning for the hat trick in front of the home crowd on Thursday because the Flames hit the road for seven straight after hosting Detroit.
OVERTIME:
1. Iginla has 54 points - 20 goals - in 58 career games against the Red Wings.
2. The teams have split two meetings this season, with Calgary earning a 4-1 win at Detroit on Nov. 3 and the Red Wings posting a 5-3 win at home on Nov. 23.
3. Detroit will likely turn to backup goaltender Ty Conklin, who has only made four starts this season, on the second night of a back-to-back Thursday.