Calgary Flames 4 Detroit Red Wings 2 

Flames Spoil Wing Party

Rick Charlton

October 10th, 2001

It's no secret the Flames will live or die as a team.

While Detroit opened their home schedule looking like a bunch of individuals, the Flames collectively stuck together and laid an unexpected 4-2 spanking on the Red Wings in front of a disappointed crowd of 20,003.

Roman Turek was once again solid in the Calgary net but that did little to deter the thought the Flames were full measure over a Wings team that many are considering as a Stanley Cup contender.

More impressive yet is the fact Calgary defencemen continue to pile up points early in the campaign - another goal and two assists tonight giving the blueliners nine points on ten Flames goals this year.

Calgary defencemen were all but invisible both defensively and offensively last season but their two way play so far this year has been generally impressive.

But a defencemen is nothing but a pylon if his forwards aren't doing their part on the backcheck, slowing up opposing forwards before they can get up speed.

In turn that often leads to an effective counter-punch the other way, something that was evident throughout the night.

A classic example would be the final Flames goal, admittedly scored on a power play, but started in Calgary's own end when a backchecking Craig Conroy flattened Brett Hull just inside the Flames blueline, setting up a three on one the other way that resulted in a Jarome Iginla's first goal of the season.

Igor Larionov threw a nifty flutter pass over the stick of a Flame defender to a streaking Kris Draper who went in alone on Turek and wristed a shot by Turek for a 1-0 Wings first period lead at 12:43.

Calgary evened the contest at 10:03 of the second when Dean McAmmond batted a loose puck over a sprawled Hasek on a two-man advantage.

Flames then took the lead on another five on three opportunity when McAmmond danced across the blue line and fed Rob Niedermayer at the side of the net. Hasek stopped the initial shot but Scott Nichol, with his first career NHL goal, batted the bouncing puck through Hasek for the 2-1 Flames lead at 15:26.

Niedermayer had an opportunity late in the second to push the Flames even further ahead when he outraced Yzerman from the red line in for a breakaway opportunity but Hasek forced the Flame centre to shoot wide of the net.

The game was a chippy affair and the epicentre had to be Wings tough guy Darren McCarty. In the first, Flames centre Marc Savard was forced to leave the game after a knee on knee collision with McCarty. Iginla leapt to Savard's defence with such vigor that he was almost banished from the game, instead getting two for instigating, five for fighting and a ten minute misconduct when he jumped McCarty after the hit.

Savard left the game and commented on The TEAM 960 broadcast that he has a suspected MCL injury to his knee.

In the second, Ronald Petrovicky narrowly missed flattening McCarty with a blind side hit. On the ensuing run up the ice McCarty returned the favour with a horrific elbow/butt end to the head of the Flames forward, leaving an angry bright red welt that could be seen from several time zones distant. McCarty earned the five minute major and game misconduct awarded by the referee.

Early in the third Tomas Holmstrom rifled a shot off the post behind Turek but the Flames charged the other way and Igor Kravchuk finished off a Craig Conroy pass at 3:50 for a 3-1 Flames advantage.

But the Wings drew back within one on a power play when Brett Hull made a brilliant play from in close, digging the puck out of a scramble as he was hitting the ice, sending it back to Brendan Shanahan who buried it behind a flattened Roman Turek.

Iginla finished scoring at 13:41 of the third on a power play.

Calgary outshot the Wings 33-26 and was three for eight on the power play. Detroit was one for six on the power play as Calgary continues its impressive early season string of penalty killing.

Calgary continues to charge out of the gate, their record now standing at an impressive 3-0-0-1 in their first four starts.

OUR STARS

1. Jarome Iginla - tossed out of the game for most of the first period after avenging the loss of linemate Savard, Iginla looked like the angry young man he needs to be in leading the Flames with a strong physical presence throughout the game. Oh yeah, a goal and an assist as well.

2. Craig Conroy - Cory Stillman who? This guy has been great as a Flame so far.

3. Ronald Petrovicky - you won't see him on the scoresheet but you only need to look at his face to see the Wings were trying to kill him most of the night, getting McCarty tossed from the game and putting a seething Brendan Shanahan in the box. Benched against Phoenix, he obviously got the message.