5 Things - Flames @ Red Wings

1. Boxed Out

Twenty minutes.

That's how much time the Flames spent in the penalty box in a 4-3 loss to the Senators in Ottawa on Monday night to kick off this four-game road trip that continues tonight in Detroit.

It was a recipe for disaster.

"It’s hard to win when you have 20 penalty minutes, right?," said Rasmus Andersson after the game, before the team flew to the Motor City. "It’s one-third of the game in the penalty box. They have a good powerplay. I didn’t think we were playing our best, even at 5-on-5, I think they were a desperate team, they were a little bit more desperate than us to start."

Yegor Sharangovich scored in his third straight game (click to read more on Sharky, his goals and his love of Lego), while Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri also talled in the loss. Kadri's goal came with 38.1 seconds to play and Dustin Wolf pulled as the Flames pushed hard down the stretch.

“You don't give yourself a chance to win," said Head Coach Ryan Huska Tuesday after the team practiced and had off-ice workout at Little Caesars Arena. "I mean, we talked about that a little bit last night. You take nine minor penalties against a good powerplay, you're not winning the game, you know. So, that's on all of us, and that discipline side of things has to be better.”

Click here to read the game story

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak - all coming at the Scotiabank Saddledome - and dropped the Flames road record to 3-4-3.

So now it's time to regroup and refocus against a tough Detroit team that has plenty of speed and skill - and can really hurt you when they go a man-up.

“Like I said in Ottawa, it’s making sure that we’re playing to our identity and how we have to play," said Huska on the plan for Wednesday. "I mean, if you were to pick something out on the team, they’ve got a really skilled group and if you look at their powerplay, especially what it’s done over the last 15 games, it’s been really good, very much at the top of the league.

"So, it plays into a little bit the discipline issue we ran into last night. We want to make sure we do things the right way without sitting in the box.”

2. Know Your Enemy

While the Flames comeback in Ottawa fell short in their last outing, the Red Wings were able to rally from a pair of one-goal deficits to beat the Islanders 4-2 in New York on Monday.

The Wings had lost four of their previous five, the win coming against the same Isles in a 2-1 victory on Friday night at Little Caesers Arena.

On Monday, New York went up 1-0 before Moritz Seider tied it heading into the first intermission. Kyle Palmieri made it 2-1 after 40 minutes of play before the Wings exploded for three straight in the final frame off the sticks of Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson, the last in the empty-net with three ticks to go in the game.

Alex Lyon got the start between the pipes for Detroit and was solid down the stretch - especially after the Isles pulled their goalie with almost three minutes to play - making 28 saves.

"The message to the guys after was just to keep working at rounding out our game and getting our game in order, because this group has shown some battle and some fight," Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde told NHL.com's Jonathan Mills after the tilt. "A positive and again, I thought through 40 minutes we did some pretty good things."

3. Fast Facts

Look Backs At It:

Mikael Backlund enters play tonight with 102 road goals in his NHL career, tied with Lanny McDonald for the fifth-most in Flames franchise history. With one more goal, Backlund can take soul-possession of fifth spot and the only players to score more road goals for the Flames are: Jarome Iginla (257), Theo Fleury (160), Joe Nieuwendyk (135), and Gary Roberts (110). Backlund leads all Swedish-born skaters in Flames franchise history in goals away from home, with Hakan Loob (96), and Kent Nilsson (87) sitting second and third respectively.

Shark Attack:

With his goal on Monday night in Ottawa, Yegor Sharangovich extended his goal-streak to three games, a streak which began on Nov. 21 against the New York Rangers. Since he joined the Flames prior to the start of last season, his 36 goals are the most on the club, with Nazem Kadri (35) and Blake Coleman (34) sitting second and third. Sharangovich has also recorded seven shots in each of his last two outings, and since the start of his three-game goal streak on Nov. 21 has fired a team-leading 18 shots.

4. Did You Know

Following their powerplay goal Monday night in Ottawa, the Flames have struck on the man advantage in four-straight games. Since Nov. 19, the Flames are tied with a league-leading five powerplay markers, the only other club with as many are the New Jersey Devils. Calgary also has a 50% efficiency on the man advantage since that date.

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5. Players To Watch

Flames - Yegor Sharangovich

He was the player to watch last game and when it comes to tonight's tilt, makes sense to go back to the man with the hot hand after he's tallied in three straight outings.

Red Wings - Dylan Larkin

Larkin's goal in the win over the Islanders extended his point streak to five games. The former first-round pick has three goals and six points during that run, and leads the team in goals this season (12) and is second in points (18) behind Lucas Raymond (20).