The Flames go for their 10th straight victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Alberta on Sunday night when they play their first game at the newly renamed Scotiabank Saddledome.
After averaging 27 home wins in the previous four seasons, the Flames (0-1-0) went 20-17-4 at Pengrowth Saddledome last year, posting their fewest victories on home ice since 2002-03 - the last time the club missed the playoffs.
“We need to be a lot better at home in order to be a good team in the league,” captain Jarome Iginla, who has eight goals and 11 assists in his last 11 home games against Los Angeles, told the Flames’ official website. “To be a playoff team, you have to be good at home. Calgary, which has outscored the visiting Kings 36-15 since its last home loss in this matchup on Dec. 21, 2005, will also need to concentrate on improving its power-play and penalty-kill efforts. The Flames went 0 for 4 with the man advantage and yielded a pair of power-play goals and a short-handed score in Thursday’s 4-0 loss at Edmonton.
Calgary scored six power-play goals during a 7-0-0 preseason.
While Flames coach Brent Sutter is looking for his club to bounce back as it opens a three-game homestand, the Kings (1-0-0) will try to win their first two road games for the second straight season.
In a rematch of last season’s Western Conference quarterfinals, Los Angeles won 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday at Vancouver to defeat the club that ended its first playoff appearance since 2001-02. Watch Live Online Give it a try >>>
