Detroit Red Wings DetroitRedWings.com presented by AT&T Detroit Red Wings presented by Amway
Click Here to Buy Playoffs Tickets
Email Updates App Text/SMS Updates Twitter Facebook Red Wings TV RSS Feeds
 

Flames look for home-ice advantage to help against Red Wings
Associated Press

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -The Calgary Flames were a poor road team all season, so the way they played in losing the first two games of their series with Detroit was no surprise.

To have any chance against the top-seeded Red Wings in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the Flames will now have to be just as good at home as they were during the regular season.

The Flames host the Red Wings in Game 3 on Tuesday night after being beaten 4-1 and 3-1 at the Joe Louis Arena.

Calgary had the most home wins in the league during the regular season with 30, including two against Detroit. The Flames won only 13 on the road.

"Coming home doesn't count for anything," Flames head coach Jim Playfair said. "Coming home and being committed to being a hardworking team gives us a chance."

And all the adrenaline the home crowd can give the Flames won't mean much if Calgary doesn't improve on their performance in Detroit.

Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff kept those two losses from becoming blowouts, facing a total of 97 shots.

Detroit is showing no signs of their first-round swoons of recent postseasons. So far, this series has looked very much like No. 1 versus No. 8 in the Western Conference.

The Wings have been faster and in control of the puck more often.

"We've been playing the way we wanted to play, but I think we can control the game for 60 minutes even better," Detroit captain Niklas Lidstrom said.

At home, Calgary will have the right of last line change, which could free captain Jarome Iginla from the clutches of Lidstrom. Iginla has two shots on goal this series.

"We do have to find ways to have the puck," Iginla said. "We're not getting the shots and they are and the big reason is they have it."

And with Detroit bottling up Iginla, Calgary needs more than a combined six shots from Alex Tanguay, Kristian Huselius and Daymond Langkow.

"Obviously I think Jarome has a lot more to give," Playfair said. "Their top players have outplayed our top players."

The Flames have to cycle the puck more effectively through the offensive zone and get more shots on Detroit goaltender Dominik Hasek, who has faced 35 in two games.

"Get pucks to Hasek from every possible angle." Playfair said. "You're not going to score on Dominik Hasek very often on your first shot.

"It's going to be second shot, your third shot. Maybe he doesn't have his stick in his hand by the time you score because you keep pounding away on it."

Hasek expects to see more rubber in Game 3.

"I think these games are going to be a little bit different and I can expect more than 20 shots," he said. "They'll be home and will be throwing everything at us, so I expect more traffic and more work for me this time."

It's difficult for Iginla to shoot at Hasek when he's on the bench watching his team kill penalties. The Flames took five penalties of in the first eight minutes of Game 2.

The Flames' lack of discipline has hampered their ability to generate momentum and has allowed Wings power-play quarterback Mathieu Schneider to tee up the puck a lot from the point.

Detroit led 2-0 after the first periods of both games. The second goals have stood up as game-winners and both came when Flames were in the penalty box.

"Put a team like Detroit on the power play, they are going to kill you every time," Flames winger Tony Amonte said.

As much as Detroit outplayed Calgary in the first two games of the series, the Red Wings know the Flames can take some momentum back with a win at the Saddledome.

"In all my years of coaching, as long as teams hold serve at home, it makes it a long series, so you're going to have to find a way to win on the road," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said.

Notes: Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr (knee) and Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi (concussion) will be game-time decisions. Bertuzzi sounded more hopeful than Regehr that he would play Tuesday




SCHEDULE

HOME
AWAY
PROMOTIONAL

STANDINGS

WESTERN CONFERENCE
  TEAM GP W L OT GF GA PTS
1 p - CHI 48 36 7 5 155 102 77
2 y - ANA 48 30 12 6 140 118 66
3 y - VAN 48 26 15 7 127 121 59
4 x - STL 48 29 17 2 129 115 60
5 x - LAK 48 27 16 5 133 118 59
6 x - SJS 48 25 16 7 124 116 57
7 x - DET 48 24 16 8 124 115 56
8 x - MIN 48 26 19 3 122 127 55
9 CBJ 48 24 17 7 120 119 55
10 PHX 48 21 18 9 125 131 51
11 DAL 48 22 22 4 130 142 48
12 EDM 48 19 22 7 125 134 45
13 CGY 48 19 25 4 128 160 42
14 NSH 48 16 23 9 111 139 41
15 COL 48 16 25 7 116 152 39

DetroitRedWings.com is the official Web site of the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit Red Wings and DetroitRedWings.com are trademarks of the Detroit Red Wings. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, NHL Conference logos and the word mark NHL Winter Classic are registered trademarks and the NHL Winter Classic logo is a trademark of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2013 Detroit Red Wings and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.
 
Advertise/SponsorshipsOlympia Entertainment | Code of Conduct | Privacy Policy | AdChoices | Employment | Contact Us | NHL.com Terms of Use | Site Map