Often in sports it's all about when you actually face a team during the long schedule.
Injuries could be a factor, hurting a particular lineup, or a team can be playing well, or badly.
The Red Wings caught the Calgary Flames at the wrong time on the schedule Saturday, October 24.
After losing its first five games, Calgary has caught fire. The Wings were the latest victims, losing 4-1 to the surging Flames.
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Calgary (4-6-0) has won four of its last five games since the season-opening slump, a young team playing with confidence and enthusiasm.
For the Wings (4-4-3), the loss ended a streak of six consecutive games earning points (3-0-3). The Wings have won once in the first three games (1-1-1) of this four-game trip, with the toughest game of the trip, arguably, still coming up.
Andrew Copp scored the lone goal for the Wings, who couldn't solve Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley (27 saves).
Joel Farabee, Zayne Parekh (power play), Ryan Strome and Matvei Gridin (power play) had Flames goals.Here is a recap of the game:
▶ First period: Calgary scored the lone goal in the period, with Farabee one-timing a pass from Adam Klapka from the corner, through the slot. It was Farabee's second goal, after getting stopped on a great attempt in the slot by goaltender John Gibson just moments before. It was a quick period, with few stoppages in play.
▶ Second period: The Wings tied the game 1-1 on Copp's second goal, at 2:27. Copp drove to the net and tipped in a bouncing puck, after the Wings won the faceoff. But Calgary dominated the rest of the period. Parekh broke the tie with a power play goal at 8:38. Parekh lifted a point shot that Gibson didn't get a good look on, bodies in front of him, and Parekh securing his first goal this season. Strome made it 3-1 at 11:07 with his second goal, getting a piece of a bouncing centering pass from Morgan Frost. Calgary pushed the lead to 4-1 on its second power play goal, as Gridin snapped a shot high over Gibson at 18:30, Gridin's second goal.
▶ Third period: A fairly uneventful 20 minutes, with the Flames doing a good job protecting the lead. The Wings had one power play but failed to convert for the second time in the game.
▶ Saddledome finale: This was the Red Wings' final game at the Scotiabank Saddledome, opened in 1983. This was the Flames' 1,662nd regular season game at the Saddledome, tying the Olympia (1927-79). With the loss, the Wings had a 30-33-4 record at the Saddledome.
▶ Sizzling power play: Calgary's, that is, as its two power play goals (on two attempts for the evening), made the Flames 6-for-12 in its last four games. The Wings' penalty kill has struggled on this road trip. The Wings have allowed four power play goals on nine attempts, thus far, in the three games of this road trip.
▶ 11 and 7: The Wings returned to a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen, basically putting defenseman Andreas Englund in the lineup, and sitting forward Carter Mazur. Englund was claimed on waivers by the Wings just before the regular season began after Calgary let go Englund, after signing Englund as a free agent on July 1.
▶ Gibson returns: Goaltender John Gibson returned to the starting lineup after missing the third period of Thursday's game in Vancouver with an eye irritation. Gibson stopped 21 shots, with Michal Postava backing up Gibson. Daniil Tarasov continues to be day-to-day after suffering an injury Monday in Seattle.▶ Next: The Wings conclude this road trip in Edmonton on Monday, Oct. 26 at Rogers Place.
tkulfan@detroitnews.com@tkulfan
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Scorching Flames burn Red Wings 4-1 in Saddledome finale