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Red Wings hope form holds against Flames
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) - The home team has won every game in the Calgary-Detroit series, and the Red Wings are hoping the trend continues at Joe Louis Arena in Game 5 on Saturday.

"The bottom line is we have to hold serve here," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said Friday.

The Western Conference's top-seeded team got off to a blazing start in the first-round series, beating the Flames 4-1 and 3-1 in games that seemed more lopsided than the scores indicated.

Calgary responded by evening the best-of-seven series with two 3-2 victories at home, where it won an NHL-high 30 games during the regular season.

"It feels like we have some momentum," Flames star Jarome Iginla said. "Everyone in our room believes if we stay out of the (penalty) box and play as hard as we can, we can win this."

While the Flames were tough to beat at home during the regular season and in Games 3-4, they were among the worst teams on the road - winning just 13 times - and struggled in the first two games of the series at Detroit.

Iginla said those facts become irrelevant Saturday afternoon.

"At this point of the year, it's not the record we had before," he said. "It's about one game."

Babcock hopes the Red Wings are resisting here-we-go-again thoughts. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2002, they've had a pair of first-round exits and one in the second round.

"One of the key things for me is, this isn't last year's team - (and) this isn't '04," he said. "Don't carry that baggage around."

Edmonton beat Detroit in Game 5 of the first round last year, taking a 3-2 lead and eventually the series.

Calgary beat the Red Wings in Game 5 of their second-round series in 2004, moving ahead 3-2 before eliminating them.

Iginla is not counting on that history.

"We know it's going to be the toughest game of the series," he said.

In what has essentially become a three-game series, Calgary wants to cut down on its penalties while the Red Wings are looking for more efficiency on the power play.

"We have to be more physical and stay out of the penalty box. That's the key," Flames coach Jim Playfair said. "I think the thing we learned is that we have to stay consistent with our composure and not get away from what we're trying to accomplish."

The Red Wings have had 25 power plays through four games, but have scored with a one- or two-man advantage only twice.

"There's not much happening," Detroit forward Todd Bertuzzi said. "We have to make smarter decisions. The guy with the puck is getting away from the two guys on the other side and being singled out. We got to stay closer together. Keep it simple."

Babcock did not say what lineup changes, if any, he planned to make Saturday. But Mikael Samuelsson or Kyle Calder could be scratched to get Jiri Hudler back on the ice.




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

STATS

2012-2013 PLAYOFFS
SKATERS: GP G A +/- Pts
H. Zetterberg 14 4 8 3 12
D. Cleary 14 4 6 -1 10
D. Brunner 14 5 4 2 9
P. Datsyuk 14 3 6 2 9
J. Franzen 14 4 2 -7 6
V. Filppula 14 2 4 -4 6
B. Smith 14 2 3 -3 5
G. Nyquist 14 2 3 3 5
J. Kindl 14 1 4 4 5
J. Andersson 14 1 4 2 5
 
GOALIES: W L OT Sv% GAA
J. Howard 7 7 2 .924 2.44

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