Flames at Red Wings
The Calgary Flames vie for their third straight victory as they continue their road trip against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. Calgary began its seven-game trek by dropping two of the first three contests before edging Philadelphia in overtime on Tuesday and outlasting Boston in a shootout two nights later. Defenseman David Schlemko scored the decisive goal in the eighth round of the bonus format as the Flames climbed within two points of Vancouver for second place in the Pacific Division.
Detroit is seeking its fourth consecutive win after edging the New York Rangers in overtime on Wednesday. Defenseman Marek Zidlicky made his Red Wings debut a memorable one, scoring a power-play goal 69 seconds into the extra session just two days after being acquired from New Jersey at the trade deadline. Detroit posted a 3-2 triumph at Calgary on Jan. 7 in the first meeting of the season as captain Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader each recorded a goal and an assist.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RSN West, TVA (Calgary), FSN Plus Detroit
ABOUT THE FLAMES (35-25-4): Schlemko became an instant hero in his Calgary debut Thursday, using a backhand deke before tucking the puck around Tuukka Rask with one hand for a highlight-reel tally. "(Coach Bob Hartley) just asked me, 'Are you good at these things?' and I told him I was 1-for-1," Schlemko said. Defenseman Kris Russell recorded an astounding 15 blocked shots - compared to 10 by the entire Bruins team - to raise his league-leading total to 218.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (36-15-11): Jonathan Ericsson is in danger of missing his first game of the season. The blue-liner, who is one of eight Red Wings to have appeared in all 62 contests this campaign, suffered an undisclosed injury in Wednesday's victory and is questionable to face the Flames. Zidlicky became the ninth defenseman to score a goal for Detroit in 2014-15, marking the first time more than eight have tallied since 2005-06, and joined Duke Keats (1927), Mud Bruneteau (1935), Marian Hossa (2008) and Stephen Weiss (2013) as the only players in franchise history to record an overtime tally in their debut with the club.
OVERTIME
1. Zidlicky had gone 31 games without a goal, last scoring on Dec. 15 while with the Devils.
2. Calgary RW David Jones left Thursday's contest with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day.
3. Zetterberg collected two assists against the Rangers after missing four games with a head injury.