Friday, Nov. 13, 2009

Calgary Flames (11-4-1) at Buffalo Sabres (10-4-1), 7:30 p.m.

The Flames have won all three of their games versus the Eastern Conference this year. To keep that perfect record intact, they will need to pick up their first win in Buffalo in over 13 years.

Calgary aims to end a seven-game winless drought in western New York this evening, as it continues a three-game road swing versus the Sabres at HSBC Arena.

Though the Flames have won four of their last six versus the Sabres, including a 5-2 home victory last year, the club hasn't won as the visitor in the series since March 15, 1996. Calgary is 0-4-2 with a tie in seven trips to Buffalo since that triumph and just 13-26-1 with five ties all-time there.

The Flames did get their three-game road trip against Eastern Conference teams off to a good start on Tuesday, notching a 1-0 triumph in Montreal. Jarome Iginla had the lone tally to run his goal-scoring streak to four games, a span in which he has five goals, while Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 25 shots for his first shutout of the season and 31st of his career.

"It was a good, intense physical game," Iginla said. "Maybe that's [because] both our teams are Canadian. We're trying to keep what we have going, and we know that [Montreal is] at home, and they play very strong, especially early in the game."

The victory was the Flames' fourth in a row to match a season high, set when the squad won its first four games of the season. Calgary, which visits Toronto on Saturday, hasn't won five straight since December 23, 2008-January 3, 2009.

The Flames, who are 5-1-1 on the road this year, were without Curtis Glencross, as he served the first contest of his three-game suspension for a hit on Monday versus the Rangers.

Kiprusoff is 2-1-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average in his career versus the Sabres, while Iginla has five goals and nine points in 15 games against them.

Buffalo also puts an undefeated mark on the line tonight, as it is 4-0-0 versus the Western Conference. That fourth victory came on Wednesday, a 3-1 home win over Edmonton.

Steve Montador scored the game-winning goal midway through the second period, and the Sabres were able to kill of a five-minute major on Clarke MacArthur for boarding late in the third to preserve a one-goal lead. Jochen Hecht added an empty-net tally, while Drew Stafford also scored.

MacArthur also got a game misconduct for his hard hit from behind on the Oilers' Liam Reddox, while Mike Grier left the contest early due to a groin injury that has him day-to-day. Still, the Sabres were able to win for the second time in five games after an 8-1-1 start.

"They did a real nice job," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said about the defensive effort. "Their lanes were good. We did a good job with lanes. We did a good with job staying in front of people and when they did get one in front of the net, we were right there for the rebounds."

Ryan Miller turned in a stellar performance, stopping 28-of-29 shots in helping Buffalo improve to 6-2-1 at home this year. The goaltender is 1-1-0 with a 3.36 GAA versus the Flames lifetime.