Flames Expose Red Wings’ Special Teams Problems In 4-1 Calgary Victory

Flames Punish Red Wings’ Special Teams In 4-1 Win© Instagram

Detroit gave Calgary two power plays Saturday night. Both ended with the puck behind John Gibson, and the Red Wings had no answer on their own chances with the extra skater. A 4-1 defeat at Scotiabank Saddledome stopped Detroit's six-game point streak and left Todd McLellan disappointed with more than the penalty kill. His team had briefly drawn level through Andrew Copp, only to concede three times before the second intermission. After Thursday's 5-2 win in Vancouver, the Wings were back to chasing a game they could not rescue.

Calgary Pulls Away After Copp's Equalizer

Copp's equalizer came from following the play to the net. J.T. Compher got a chance in close, and Copp stayed with the puck to finish at 2:22 of the second period. It was his second goal of the season.

Detroit remained tied for a little over six minutes.

Zayne Parekh then scored his first goal of the campaign on the power play at 8:38. Ryan Strome added another at 17:04, converting Morgan Frost's pass, before a puck over the glass by Michael Brandsegg-Nygård put Calgary back on the advantage. Matvei Gridin made it 4-1 at 18:30.The Flames needed just two opportunities to do that damage. Detroit went 0-for-2.

“I thought it was one of our poorer nights, as far as execution goes,” McLellan said.

Even when Detroit worked its way into attacking positions, the passing let it down. McLellan pointed to pucks arriving in skates or too far ahead of teammates. Those possessions were difficult enough to build without wasting the final pass.

Farabee And Cooley Keep Calgary Rolling

Joel Farabee had opened the scoring late in the first period and finished with a goal and two assists. Gridin added an assist to his goal, while Matt Coronato supplied two helpers.

Behind them, Devin Cooley stopped 28 shots for his third consecutive win. Calgary has won four of five after losing its first five games, improving to 4-6-0.Gibson made 21 saves, but the second period brought three goals on 10 shots. In Vancouver, he had faced only five shots over two periods before leaving the game.

This was Detroit's final appearance at the Saddledome, which is due to be replaced for the 2027-28 season. The Wings left with a loss after winning their previous eight meetings with the Flames.

Detroit is now 4-4-3 and 1-1-1 on this road trip. Monday's visit to Edmonton is the last stop, with a split still available after Saturday's setback.