Updated at 10:51 AM: As the Red Wings prepare to face the 12-7-and-3 Calgary Flames tonight (7:30 PM EST start on Fanduel Sportsnet Detroit Extra/Sportsnet 360/97.1 FM), the Wings face a team that’s got other things on its mind.
Calgary’s coming off a 4-3 loss to Ottawa this past Monday, and while that game snapped a 4-game winning streak, the Flames have lost their last 4 road games. Some folks believe that the Flames will be distracted by an emotional set of games against Johnny Gaudreau’s Columbus Blue Jackets starting on Friday, but I’m not buying into that narrative.
According to CalgaryFlames.com’s Ty Pilson, the Flames are pissed off about the way in which that they lost to Ottawa on Monday night…
Twenty minutes. That’s how much time the Flames spent in the penalty box in a 4-3 loss to the Senators in Ottawa on Monday night to kick off this four-game road trip that continues tonight in Detroit. It was a recipe for disaster.
“It’s hard to win when you have 20 penalty minutes, right?,” said Rasmus Andersson after the game, before the team flew to the Motor City. “It’s one-third of the game in the penalty box. They have a good powerplay. I didn’t think we were playing our best, even at 5-on-5, I think they were a desperate team, they were a little bit more desperate than us to start.”
Yegor Sharangovich scored in his third straight game (click to read more on Sharky, his goals and his love of Lego), while Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri also talled in the loss. Kadri’s goal came with 38.1 seconds to play and Dustin Wolf pulled as the Flames pushed hard down the stretch.
“You don’t give yourself a chance to win,” said Head Coach Ryan Huska Tuesday after the team practiced and had off-ice workout at Little Caesars Arena. “I mean, we talked about that a little bit last night. You take nine minor penalties against a good powerplay, you’re not winning the game, you know. So, that’s on all of us, and that discipline side of things has to be better.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak – all coming at the Scotiabank Saddledome – and dropped the Flames road record to 3-4-3.
MLive’s Tyler Kuehl’s game preview also notes the following about the Flames:
The Flames are certainly going to be a worthy test. The team was one of the hottest teams in the NHL during the opening weeks of the year (pun intended), but since cooled off. Yet, they are still one of the top teams in the Pacific Division. Following a tough loss on Monday against the Ottawa Senators, the first of a four-game road trip out east, the Flames are second in the Pacific, three points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights.
This will be the first of two meetings this year between the Red Wings and Flames. Detroit has won four straight against Calgary dating back to the 2022-23 campaign.
While the Calgary Sun’s Danny Austin offers one more Flames preview:
The quote
“It’s the style of play we have to come with all the time, whether you’re at home or on the road. There’s things that make our team a good hockey team and if those things are present it gives us a chance to win. It doesn’t guarantee wins, but we feel we’re going to be in games and now our power-play can help us out and win us close games. The little factors that we believe in and have done a really good job of at home, those are things we have to continue on the road.”— Flames head coach Ryan Huska
The news
• The Red Wings have won two of their past three games, but they haven’t been particularly strong at home this season. They’re only 4-5-1 at Little Caesars Arena this year.
• After scoring one on Monday against the Sens, Yegor Sharangovich has now scored in three straight games. He had only two in the 10 games this season he had played prior to this little burst of offence, but it’s worth noting that he got off to a slow start in 2023-24, too. He looks to be rounding into form.
• Red Wings forward Patrick Kane is third among active NHL players in points against the Flames all-time. He has 25 goals and 34 assists, although Connor McDavid is biting right at his heels with 58 points, just one behind.
For the 9-10-and-2 Red Wings, of course, the next stretch may determine coach Derek Lalonde’s future with the organization, so the Wings hope to make hay while the sun shines as they face the Flames this evening, and then the Devils (Friday at 3 PM) and Canucks (Sunday at 12:30 PM) before heading out on the road for 4 of 5.
Detroit is of course coming off a 4-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Monday, and the Wings had lost 4 of their previous 5 games, so Detroit’s hoping to turn the ship around in short order.
If you’re interested in reading tonight’s game notes, here they are in PDF form:
Anyway, the Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena just after 10:30 AM for their morning skate…
#RedWings morning skate before hosting Flames tonight (7:30, @FanDuelSN_DET Extra). Talbot not on the ice so it looks like he’s starting since he usually doesn’t practice the morning of games he starts. Lyon was out there earlier but left. Kane is skating. pic.twitter.com/Ow7S5uMtBW
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 27, 2024
Patrick Kane (upper body) on the ice with Red Wings for morning skate (host Calgary Flames tonight) but isn't taking part in his usual PP group, so may not be ready yet. Will know more after skate.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) November 27, 2024
#RedWings power play units:
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 27, 2024
1. Rasmussen (net front), Larkin (bumper), DeBrincat-Raymond (flanks), Seider (point).
2. Compher (net front), Copp (bumper), Tarasenko-Kasper (flanks), Petry (point).
Based on this, look like Kane (upper body injury) and Gustafsson out tonight. pic.twitter.com/nXnODPkt4R
