Two teams battling to stay in the win column square off in Calgary as the Flames host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
This is the first of two meetings between these teams this season. Detroit has won eight straight in the overall series dating back to the 2022-23 season.
The Red Wings appear to have righted the ship after a lackluster start, winning three of their last four games. They played a consistent game to win 2-1 against the lowly Philadelphia Flyers, rallied late for a 4-3 shootout victory against the San Jose Sharks, and most recently secured an early lead in a 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks.
On Thursday in Vancouver, Lucas Raymond scored twice in the first period to give Detroit a 3-1 lead.
“He put himself in good spots tonight to score,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought he did that last game. Even when he mishandled the puck a couple times three or four games ago, he was in the right spot. So now he’s feeling good, the confidence is back where it should be, and hopefully he takes off.”
William Wallinder and Michael Rasmussen also scored. John Gibson stopped four of five shots over two periods but did not return for the third due to an apparent eye issue, according to McLellan. Michal Postava, recalled from the AHL earlier that day, made seven saves in his NHL debut.
“It’s crazy,” Postava said. “I think it’s for me the best option. I don’t have time to think about anything, so yeah, I just warm up and be ready.”
The Flames have also won three of their last four, after starting their 2026-27 campaign with five straight losses. They rallied in the third period to secure a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, scored a third-period goal to top the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes 3-2, and leaned on Devin Cooley to lock down a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Cooley made 34 saves against the Hurricanes and 36 against the Wild.
“The last five or 10 minutes, I was like, ‘Okay, now it’s my turn. Like to return the favor a little bit,'” Cooley said following the win against Minnesota. “The guys battled so hard for me. I wanted to battle for them.”
Aydar Suniev and Joel Farabee scored first-period power-play goals, giving the Flames an early 2-0 lead. Minnesota outshot Calgary 17-3 in the third period in an effort to rally and tie the game late, which is where Flames head coach Ryan Huska said Cooley really stood tall.
“For two periods, I thought we were really good,” Huska recalled. “I thought we did a lot of good things against a good team. In the third period, our goaltender was our best player. When you find yourself in situations when you’re really pushing for a win, sometimes you take on a little water, and when we did, he was unreal.”
