GAME DAY: Wings host winless Flames in search of third consecutive victory
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By Mike Gould
2 years agoThe Detroit Red Wings and Calgary Flames will meet at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday for their first meeting since Feb. 23, 2020.
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In their last matchup, the Flames won 4-2 on the strength of two goals by @Andrew Mangiapane. @Johnny Gaudreau and @Sean Monahan also scored for Calgary; @Dylan Larkin and @Tyler Bertuzzi tallied for the Red Wings.
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Thursday’s game will be the Flames’ first regular-season contest in the United States since Mar. 1, 2020, when they defeated the Florida Panthers 3-0.
Detroit will aim to continue its three-game point streak with a win on Thursday. The Red Wings currently own a 2-0-1 record and have won their last two games; the Flames are 0-1-1 and have already allowed eight goals.
The Red Wings
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill went with these lines in Wednesday’s practice:
@Tyler Bertuzzi – @Dylan Larkin – @Lucas Raymond
@Robby Fabbri – @Pius Suter – @Filip Zadina
@Vladislav Namestnikov – @Michael Rasmussen – @Adam Erne
@Givani Smith – @Mitchell Stephens – @Sam Gagner
@Robby Fabbri – @Pius Suter – @Filip Zadina
@Vladislav Namestnikov – @Michael Rasmussen – @Adam Erne
@Givani Smith – @Mitchell Stephens – @Sam Gagner
@Danny DeKeyser – @Filip Hronek
@Nick Leddy – @Moritz Seider
@Marc Staal – @Gustav Lindstrom
@Nick Leddy – @Moritz Seider
@Marc Staal – @Gustav Lindstrom
Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t look like the Wings will be making any changes after their commanding 4-1 win over Columbus on Tuesday.
Expect @Alex Nedeljkovic to get the start in goal for Detroit on Thursday. @Thomas Greiss was excellent in his appearances against Vancouver and Columbus but the Wings will want to give Nedeljkovic an opportunity to get on track against a struggling opponent.
The Flames
Calgary lost its first two games of the 2021–22 season, falling 5-2 to the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 16 before losing 3-2 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks two nights later.
The Flames practiced Wednesday using these lines:
@Johnny Gaudreau – @Elias Lindholm – @Matthew Tkachuk
@Blake Coleman – @Mikael Backlund – @Tyler Pitlick
@Andrew Mangiapane – @Dillon Dube – @Brett Ritchie
@Milan Lucic – @Sean Monahan – @Trevor Lewis
@Blake Coleman – @Mikael Backlund – @Tyler Pitlick
@Andrew Mangiapane – @Dillon Dube – @Brett Ritchie
@Milan Lucic – @Sean Monahan – @Trevor Lewis
@Noah Hanifin – @Michael Stone
@Oliver Kylington – @Chris Tanev
@Juuso Valimaki – @Erik Gudbranson
@Oliver Kylington – @Chris Tanev
@Juuso Valimaki – @Erik Gudbranson
Expect @Rasmus Andersson and @Nikita Zadorov to dress Thursday in place of Stone and Kylington. @Jacob Markstrom will likely start for the Flames.
Players to watch
Detroit: Who among us would have predicted @Tyler Bertuzzi would be the NHL’s early goal-scoring leader? The 26-year-old winger is currently tied with Los Angeles Kings center @Anze Kopitar for the league lead with five goals in three games. Bertuzzi will face a Canadian opponent for the second time of 2021–22 on Thursday; of course, owing to his unvaccinated status, he’ll only be able to play against the NHL’s seven international opponents inside the friendly confines of Little Caesars Arena.
Calgary: The Flames need more out of @Sean Monahan. The 27-year-old center has yet to score his first point of the 2021–22 season; last year, he managed just 10 goals and 18 assists in 50 games. Monahan has dealt with a ton of injuries and has undergone at least six surgeries over the course of his nine-season NHL career. In 593 games with the Flames, Monahan has 204 goals and 439 points.
Scoring leaders
Calgary: @Elias Lindholm (two goals, two points); @Johnny Gaudreau (zero goals, two points); @Rasmus Andersson (zero goals, two points); @Blake Coleman (one goal, one point); @Andrew Mangiapane (one goal, one point); @Matthew Tkachuk (zero goals, one point).
Detroit: @Tyler Bertuzzi (five goals, six points); @Vladislav Namestnikov (two goals, three points); @Dylan Larkin (one goal, three points); @Adam Erne (one goal, three points); @Robby Fabbri (one goal, three points); @Lucas Raymond (one goal, three points).
Viewing and listening options
Thursday’s Wings/Flames game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit and, for Calgary viewers, Sportsnet West. It’ll be sent over the airwaves on WXVT-FM 97.1 “The Ticket” in the Detroit area, as well as on the Red Wings’ official website.
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