Jiri Hudler and Jarome Iginla will have different emotions when the Calgary Flames hit the ice at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit Tuesday but both will have the same goal — beating the Red Wings.
The Flames need a win after starting the season with just one in six games while playing five times at home.
Hudler has made a strong early impression with his new team. He’s played only three games with the Flames but has points in each with two goals and three assists. He missed the club’s first three games returning to the Czech Republic where his father passed away suddenly.
Now Hudler faces an emotion of another kind — playing his former team for the first team. The winger played seven seasons with the Wings helping them win a Stanley Cup in 2008. He signed a four-year contract with the Flames during the off-season. Hudler’s biggest concern, “I don’t want to get over-excited and have it affect my game. I have a lot of friends in Detroit and have some great memories.”
Iginla, the Flames all-time leading scorer with 516 goals and 1077 points, is still looking for his first goal of the season. However, in his last seven games against the Red Wings he’s scored eight goals including three last year when the teams split the four games.
This is the fourth time in Iginla’s career that he hasn’t scored in the first six games, although he does have four assists. His longest start to a season without getting a goal is 11 games. That was in 1999-2000 when he missed the first three games due to a contract dispute and then didn’t get in the goal column until Game 12. He would tally 29 goals in the remaining 66 games. In two other seasons, Iginla’s first goal came in the sixth contest.
Mike Cammalleri also is also in search of his initial goal this season. He also might find a bit of confidence against the Red Wings considering that in his only game against them last season he turned on the red light against Jimmy Howard. The forward has nine goals and 18 points in 19 games over all vs. the Wings.
