Flames aim to avoid third straight loss vs. Sabres
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(SportsNetwork.com) - The Calgary Flames will try to avoid their first three- game slide of the season when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for Thursday's battle at First Niagara Center.
The Flames are coming off consecutive regulation losses against San Jose and Toronto, giving the surprising club its only 0-2 stretch of the season. Calgary only has suffered two straight defeats one other time in 2014-15, during an 0-1-1 slide in late October.
Calgary, which currently sits third in the Pacific Division, hasn't lost three in a row since a four-game skid from Jan. 14-20 of last season.
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The Flames were handed a 4-1 defeat Tuesday in Toronto, dropping the opener of a four-game road trip. Calgary's lone goal -- a power-play tally off the stick of Markus Granlund -- came with the Flames down 2-0 early in the third period.
T.J. Brodie and Mark Giordano each recorded an assist for the Flames, while Jonas Hiller stopped 25 shots in defeat.
"We just stopped skating and applying pressure on their defensemen," Flames head coach Bob Hartley said. "We were a couple of steps behind them."
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The Flames fell to 9-6-0 as the guest this season. Calgary did win in its last trip to Buffalo, posting a 2-1 overtime victory on Dec. 14 of last season to end an eight-game losing streak in Western New York.
Calgary has taken two straight and three of four overall from the Sabres.
Although Buffalo is currently last in the Atlantic Division, Ted Nolan's club has won four of its last six games and is coming off a victory over the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
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Tyler Ennis' third-period goal proved to be the difference in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Ennis scored the lone goal of the game on the power play early in the final stanza with assists coming from Matt Moulson and Drew Stafford to help the Sabres snap a two-game losing streak.
Jhonas Enroth kept the Kings off the scoreboard with 34 saves to earn his first shutout of the season. It was his Buffalo's first shutout of the season and Enroth's first since April 13, 2013 against Philadelphia.
Buffalo, which was outshot 34-16 by the Kings, went 1-for-4 on the power play after entering Tuesday on a 1-for-19 slump with the man advantage.
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"It was good to get one," said Nolan. "It's good for your confidence, especially in a game where you killed off their power play, and we got one on ours."
Enroth is expected to start in net again tonight and he owns a 1-0-1 record and 1.46 goals against average in his career against Calgary. Karri Ramo will get the start for Calgary and is 1-1-0 with a 3.54 GAA in this matchup.