Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Detroit/Calgary Preview And Notes

01/07/2015 at 10:24am EST

from Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald,

For defencemen, the Detroit Red Wings can be a real headache.

Ask Mark Giordano.

And not just because the Calgary Flames blue-liner, in the 2007 post-season, was dinged by Mathieu Schneider’s one-timer, a rising shot that cracked his helmet and split his scalp.

Typically, the Wings cause pain in less bloody fashion.

They simply hog the puck.

Which presents a nightmare for defenders.

“They’re a scary team,” says Giordano, who, Wednesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome, skates in his 19th regular-season contest against Detroit. “They have a lot of skill, and they’re willing to try to make those plays. They’re a puck-possession team, no doubt about it. They play a fast game. And they’ve always had those great centremen coming through the middle — those guys dictate the way they play.”

continued

via NHL.com,

Season series: The Detroit Red Wings swept two games against the Calgary Flames last season. Daniel Alfredsson scored twice, including the overtime goal, in Detroit's 3-2 victory against Calgary at Joe Louis Arena on Dec. 19, 2013.

Red Wings team scope: Detroit has split the first two games of its six-game road trip, bouncing back after a 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday by beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Tuesday. Pavel Datsyuk's power-play goal with 34 seconds remaining in regulation broke a 2-2 tie, and Luke Glendening hit the empty net with three seconds left. Justin Abdelkader matched his career-high by scoring his 10th goal. Detroit was 3-for-6 on the power play, and goaltender Jimmy Howard made 21 saves. "We just stayed poised," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "We created a lot of chances and did a lot of good stuff out there. It's fun to see it work out this way." Forward Tomas Jurco left the game because of back spasms, and coach Mike Babcock said he won't play against the Flames.

Flames team scope: Calgary reaches the halfway point of its season in much better shape to make a run at a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs than at the same point last season, when the Flames were 14-21-6. Calgary enters Wednesday two points out of the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference. "We're one game away from the halfway point of the season and we are controlling our own destiny," coach Bob Hartley said after practice Tuesday. The Flames are coming off a four-day break after a 2-1 home loss to the New York Islanders on Friday. Forward Mikael Backlund (abdomen), who hasn't played since late October, "looked pretty good," according to Hartley, and could get back into the lineup.

TEAM STATS
GP RECORD HOME ROAD L10 G/GP GA/GP PP% PK% PIM/GP S/GP SA/GP FO%
Detroit Red Wings 40 21-10-9 13-4-6 8-6-3 4-4-2 2.80 2.35 24.2 86.4 8.4 30.9 27.1 54.7
Calgary Flames 40 21-16-3 11-7-2 10-9-1 4-5-1 2.80 2.60 18.5 76.5 8.3 27.1 28.0 46.7

DETROIT RED WINGS

THE MATCHUP

- Tonight is the 153rd all-time meetings between DET and CGY
- Tonight marks the 1st of 2 meetings this season between DET and CGY, only meeting in CGY
- DET’s all-time record vs. CGY: 70-65-16-1
- DET’s all-time road record at CGY: 29-42-6-0
- DET won both meetings vs. CGY in 2013-14, outscoring them 7-5
- DET is 4-5-1 in its last 10 vs. CGY
- DET is 6-3-1 in its last 10 road games at CGY
- Pavel Datsyuk has 43 points (12-31-43) in 42 games vs. CGY
- Henrik Zetterberg has 27 points (15-12-27) in 38 games vs. CGY
- Jonathan Ericsson played his 1st NHL game on 2/22/08 vs. CGY
- CGY F Jiri Hudler had 214 points (87-127-214) in 409 games for DET from 2003-12
- CGY D T.J. Brodie played 4 seasons with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit (20-87-107 in 170 GP) from 2006-10
- CGY D Corey Potter is from Lansing, Mich., and had 44 points (8-36-44) in 150 games with the Michigan State Spartans from 2002-06

LEAGUE LEADERS

Datsyuk: T27th with 15 goals, T24th with 5 PPG, T14th with 3 GWG, 5th with 57.4 faceoff %, T18th with 17.1 shooting %
Franzen: T14th with 3 GWG
Glendening: 10th with a 56.5 faceoff %
Howard: T11th with 16 wins, 4th with a 2.08 GAA, 9th with a .921 SV%, T13th with 2 SOs
Nyquist: T20th with 15 goals, T5th with 8 PPG, T14th with 3 GWG, T23rd with 16.9 shooting %
Tatar: T17th with 16 goals, T18th with 5 PPG, T5th with 4 GWG
Zetterberg: T13th with 25 assists, T27th with 34 points, T12th with 128 shots, 27th with a 53.9 faceoff %
TEAM: 6th with 2.35 goals against per game, 2nd on the power play at 24.2%, 4th on the penalty kill at 86.4%, 10th with 30.9 shots for per game, 3rd with 27.1 shots against per game

RECENT/UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Zetterberg had 2 points on 12/23 vs. BUF to give him his 749th and 750th NHL points
- Helm scored his 50th and 51st career NHL goals on 12/31 vs. NJ
- Kronwall stands 18th in franchise history with 250 assists after picking up a helper last night, passing Nick Libett
- Last night was Franzen’s 600th NHL game
- Tonight is Zetterberg’s 800th NHL game
- Nyquist is 3 goals away from 50

CALGARY FLAMES

FLAMES RECENT INJURIES (Total man games lost - 119):
Mason Raymond – 18 games (Oct. 28 – Dec. 6) Shoulder
Joe Colborne – 18 games (Oct. 31 – Dec. 9) Upper Body
Josh Jooris – 3 games (Dec. 22 – 29) Upper Body
Mikael Backlund – 28 games (Oct. 31 – Jan. 2) Upper Body
Ladislav Smid – 9 games (Dec. 14 – Jan. 2) Upper Body

TONIGHT’S STORYLINES – CALGARY FLAMES vs. DETROIT RED WINGS:
2014-15 Season Series: 0-0-0-0 (Home: 0-0-0-0, Road: 0-0-0-0):
Jan. 7, 2015 CGY vs. DET, Mar. 6, 2015 CGY at DET
2013-14 Season Series: 0-1-1-0 (Home: 0-1-0-0, Road: 0-0-1-0):
Nov. 1, 2013 DET 4 at CGY 3, Dec. 9, 2013 DET 3 vs. CGY 2 (OT)
All-Time Regular Season Record: 66-65-16-3-2

LAST TEN CALGARY vs. DETROIT: 5-3-1-1

The Red Wings took both meetings with the Flames in 2013-14 after Calgary had won the prior three matchups.

LAST TEN HOME GAMES vs. DETROIT: 4-5-0-1

The Red Wings won the only meeting at the Scotiabank Saddledome last season snapping the Flames two-game winning streak at home during which they outscored Detroit eight to four. Six of the last ten meetings in Canada have been decided by a single goal.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS vs. DETROIT:
Mikael Backlund had his first career multi-goal game in his first meeting with the Red Wings on October 21, 2010.
Flames captain Mark Giordano scored in both his first regular season game against the Detroit on February 11, 2007 and his first postseason meeting with the Red Wings on April 17, 2007.
Following tonight’s game with Detroit, Kris Russell will have played the Michigan club 36 times, the most he has faced any team in the NHL.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Flames have 21 wins and 45 points through 40 games this year, while in 2013-14 through 40 games they had 14 wins and 34 points. Calgary would not reach 45 points until game 53 and they did not get their 21st win until game 55.

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