(My Sportsbook) - The Detroit Red Wings will attempt to wrap their four-game homestand with a perfect record tonight, when they close the residency against the
Calgary Flames at Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings have played some tight hockey at home as of late. All three of their wins so far on the stand have come by one goal. After a 2-1 victory over Anaheim on December 1, Detroit escaped with a 6-5 victory over Vancouver last Thursday before a 5-4 shootout win against Chicago on Saturday.
Pavel Datsyuk scored the lone goal of the shootout as the first skater, slipping a backhander past Cristobal Huet for the lead. Ty Conklin then stopped Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane to give Detroit the win.
Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler each had a goal and an assist while Conklin finished the game with 28 saves for the Red Wings, who are 8-2-2 at home this season. Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa each scored in the third period for Detroit.
Conklin defeated the Flames earlier this year, making 31 saves in a 5-2 win in Calgary. Five different Detroit skaters scored in that one.
Conklin is 2-1-0 with a 3.02 goals against average versus the Flames, but the Red Wings are still likely to go with Chris Osgood tonight. Osgood is 22-14-0 with five ties, three shutouts and a 2.29 GAA in 41 games against Calgary.
While Detroit is well rested, Calgary was just in action last night, when it dropped a 4-1 decision to the Montreal Canadiens.
Dustin Boyd, who had missed the previous five games with an upper-body injury, returned to the lineup and scored the only goal for the Flames, had a season- high four-game road winning streak end. Calgary had won the first two tests of a current four-game road trip that concludes tonight. The Flames are 7-7-0 on the road this year.
Miikka Kiprusoff allowed four goals on 31 shots in the losing effort, while Jarome Iginla and Todd Bertuzzi had the assists.
The Flames, with their 33 points, are two points back of Vancouver for first place in the Northwest Division.
Calgary's earlier loss to Detroit was its fourth in the last five meetings. The Flames have lost four straight and five of their last six in Motown.