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November 20, 2002 - Flames licked by Wings
My Kris Draper Page

Flames licked by Wings

November 20, 2002

BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

CALGARY, Alberta -- Someone threw a cow's tongue -- that's right, a cow's tongue -- onto the Saddledome ice Tuesday night. Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios scooped it up with his stick and dumped it over the boards between the benches.

"I didn't know what it was; I was just getting it out of the way," Chelios said. "It didn't stink like an octopus."

The same can't be said for the Flames. We say this tongue-in-cheek, of course, but perhaps the fans were sticking a tongue out at their team. The Wings whipped the Flames, 5-0, a month after whipping them at Joe Louis Arena, 4-0.

The Wings are 5-0 and have allowed only four goals in their past five games; the Flames are 0-5-0-1 and have scored only two goals in their past six.

"This is dire straits," said Calgary coach Greg Gilbert, who was without two regular defensemen because of injury and a suspension. "We are going through a tough time here."

Sergei Fedorov scored his 12th of the season, tying Colorado's Joe Sakic and Columbus' Geoff Sanderson for the NHL lead. Igor Larionov scored his first. And the Wings got a goal from each member of the Grind Line: Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty. Draper also had an assist, Maltby also had two assists, and McCarty also had an assist and a fight, giving him a Gordie Howe hat trick.

"We work hard every game, and some nights we get rewarded," Draper said. "This was one of those nights."

Dmitri Bykov and Brett Hull each had two assists. Goaltender Curtis Joseph made 29 saves for his 38th career shutout, his second with the Wings. His most impressive work came in the third period. He foiled a Flames' flurry, stopping last season's NHL goal-scoring champion, Jarome Iginla, all the way out at the hash marks -- without a stick.

Defenseman Jason Woolley, acquired Saturday from Buffalo, played 16:54 and was plus-3 in his Wings debut. For the most part, he paired with Bykov. He paired with Chelios on the second power-play unit.

Larionov scored on a power play 17:36 into the first period. Hull made a beautiful pass up the ice. Larionov broke in ahead of defenseman Petr Buzek, made a move and beat goaltender Jamie McLennan with a backhander.

"It was like old times," Larionov said. "Slava Fetisov on the breakaway. Just go there and get the puck."

McCarty whipped the puck past McLennan 2:11 into the second. Forty-one seconds later, Fedorov beat McLennan from the right circle. Maltby one-timed a pass from McCarty at 5:46 of the third period, and Draper iced it with 3:54 left.