The Flames
Keep Your Eye On
Jarome Iginla
The past may or may not mean anything but the captain had a slow October last season and broke through in November to be the NHL's player of the month with 14 goals and six assists.
The Lines
A. Tanguay M. Stajan J. Iginla
N. Hagman O. Jokinen/B. Morrison B. Morrison/B. Sutter
R. Bourque M. Backlund D. Moss
C. Glencross C. Conroy T. Jackman
The Pairings
J. Bouwmeester R. Regehr
M. Giordano I. White
B. Mikkelson C. Sarich
The Goaltenders
M. Kiprusoff
H. Karlsson
The Injuries
C Daymond Langkow (neck), LW Ales Kotalik (knee), D Adam Pardy (shoulder), Raitis Ivanans (suspected concussion.)
The Notes
Plenty of line juggling going on with the Flames at Tuesday's practice as C Olli Jokinen was dismissed early for "general maintenance". Whether he plays or not remains to be seen, same for RW/C David Moss. Either way, coach Brent Sutter has shuffled the lines except for his No.1 trio . . . The Flames lost 4-2 at Detroit in their first meeting of the season, a game in which rookie C Mikael Backlund scored his only two goals . . . Calgary's penalty kill has slipped to 19th at 82.2 per cent while the power-play continues to struggle at 11.8 per cent, 25th among the 30 teams . . . For the first time in a long time, the Flames will actually have to scratch two players, a forward and a defenceman.
The Red Wings
Keep Your Eye On
C Pavel Datsyuk is coming off a bit of a downer in a 70-point season but has roared out of the gate with six goals and 11 points through the first nine games. Always dangerous with or without the puck.
The Lines
Pavel Datsyuk Henrik Zetterberg Tomas Holmstrom
Johan Franzen Valtteri Filppula Todd Bertuzzi
Justin Abdelkader Mike Modano Dan Cleary
Drew Miller Darren Helm Patrick Eaves
The Pairings
Nicklas Lidstrom Brad Stuart
Niklas Kronwall Doug Janik
Jonathan Ericsson Ruslan Salei
The Goaltenders
Jimmy Howard
Joey MacDonald
The Injuries
D Brian Rafalski (knee), RW Kris Draper (sports hernia), G Chris Osgood (groin).
The Notes
The Wings should be ready to go for the opener of this three-game western swing, having arrived Monday night . . . D Niklas Lidstrom, now 40 years old and in his 19th season, is off to a rare quick start offensively with one goal and a team-leading 10 assists . . . Rugged winger Justin Abdelkader made his season debut in the club's Saturday win at Nashville and, not surprisingly, was a physical force. He was sidelined with a rib injury . . . Winger Jiri Hudler, back with the Wings after spending last season in Russia, was a bit of a surprise scratch Saturday . . . D Jonathan Ericsson is ready to go after sitting out with back spasms, ditto for No. 1 G Jimmy Howard . . . Detroit has the No. 2 penalty kill at 91.2 per cent and the No. 11 power-play at 18.6 per cent.
Keep Your Eye On
Jarome Iginla
The past may or may not mean anything but the captain had a slow October last season and broke through in November to be the NHL's player of the month with 14 goals and six assists.
The Lines
A. Tanguay M. Stajan J. Iginla
N. Hagman O. Jokinen/B. Morrison B. Morrison/B. Sutter
R. Bourque M. Backlund D. Moss
C. Glencross C. Conroy T. Jackman
The Pairings
J. Bouwmeester R. Regehr
M. Giordano I. White
B. Mikkelson C. Sarich
The Goaltenders
M. Kiprusoff
H. Karlsson
The Injuries
C Daymond Langkow (neck), LW Ales Kotalik (knee), D Adam Pardy (shoulder), Raitis Ivanans (suspected concussion.)
The Notes
Plenty of line juggling going on with the Flames at Tuesday's practice as C Olli Jokinen was dismissed early for "general maintenance". Whether he plays or not remains to be seen, same for RW/C David Moss. Either way, coach Brent Sutter has shuffled the lines except for his No.1 trio . . . The Flames lost 4-2 at Detroit in their first meeting of the season, a game in which rookie C Mikael Backlund scored his only two goals . . . Calgary's penalty kill has slipped to 19th at 82.2 per cent while the power-play continues to struggle at 11.8 per cent, 25th among the 30 teams . . . For the first time in a long time, the Flames will actually have to scratch two players, a forward and a defenceman.
The Red Wings
Keep Your Eye On
C Pavel Datsyuk is coming off a bit of a downer in a 70-point season but has roared out of the gate with six goals and 11 points through the first nine games. Always dangerous with or without the puck.
The Lines
Pavel Datsyuk Henrik Zetterberg Tomas Holmstrom
Johan Franzen Valtteri Filppula Todd Bertuzzi
Justin Abdelkader Mike Modano Dan Cleary
Drew Miller Darren Helm Patrick Eaves
The Pairings
Nicklas Lidstrom Brad Stuart
Niklas Kronwall Doug Janik
Jonathan Ericsson Ruslan Salei
The Goaltenders
Jimmy Howard
Joey MacDonald
The Injuries
D Brian Rafalski (knee), RW Kris Draper (sports hernia), G Chris Osgood (groin).
The Notes
The Wings should be ready to go for the opener of this three-game western swing, having arrived Monday night . . . D Niklas Lidstrom, now 40 years old and in his 19th season, is off to a rare quick start offensively with one goal and a team-leading 10 assists . . . Rugged winger Justin Abdelkader made his season debut in the club's Saturday win at Nashville and, not surprisingly, was a physical force. He was sidelined with a rib injury . . . Winger Jiri Hudler, back with the Wings after spending last season in Russia, was a bit of a surprise scratch Saturday . . . D Jonathan Ericsson is ready to go after sitting out with back spasms, ditto for No. 1 G Jimmy Howard . . . Detroit has the No. 2 penalty kill at 91.2 per cent and the No. 11 power-play at 18.6 per cent.
