I'm not going to lie, I was slightly tempted to copy and paste last week's Calgary vs. Detroit preview and just make a few appropriate changes. But I guess I like my blogging.
Nevertheless tonight is a rematch of last week's pivotal game between the Wings and Flames, the only significant difference: this one's in Southern Alberta.
Just like last time, Calgary looks to leapfrog the Wings, who sit one point ahead of them in 8th place while the Wings look to pull within one point of the 7th-placed Predators. This time around, the Wings are hoping events go a little differently.
Mike Babcock will try to overcome the disadvantage of playing on the road and hope to benefit from a Calgary squad that played and lost in Vancouver last night. The also look to do something they have still not been able to do this year; win three games in a row. Their last opportunity to achieve the mark came against this very team, but fell 4-2 to a hungrier Flames team.
If the preceding meetings between Detroit and Calgary are anything to go by (and let's face it, they probably aren't), the Wings should be favored tonight as all three past meetings went the way of the visitor; Detroit winning 3-1 in Calgary and the Flames topping the Wings 3-0 and 4-2 in Detoit. The Winged Wheelers are in desperate need of this trend to continue tonight.
Jimmy Howard will make the start tonight and didn't mince words about his team's intentions, "We owe Calgary after they embarrassed us in our own barn in the third period. We'll be ready."
Howard's opponent in net will be Miikka Kiprusoff, who was pulled after the first period when the Flames trailed 3-0 by coach Brent Sutter, in a move that was more for preservation for tonight's game than anything else.
Detroit will certainly need to be ready and they'll need all their top players performing to beat the Flames, who have won 4 of their last five.
Scary Pairs:
Zetterberg & Franzen
5v5 TOI - 32.6 min, HOOK-UPS - 2, MIN/HU - 16.3, +1
Bertuzzi & Holmstrom
5v5 TOI - 271.7 min, HOOK-UPS - 6, MIN/HU - 54.3, +5
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