NHL Notebook - Flames can't explain road success

Flames can't explain road success
The Calgary Flames don't have an explanation for their stellar 10-1-3 record on the road this season.
"Who knows what it is? It's not easy to put your finger on it," said winger David Moss. "It's one of those things you can't explain. You just hope to keep winning.
"We've had so many guys step up and contribute. That's what really makes a team go . . . when some guys might be struggling or whatever, but it's a team game. For the most part, we've been having pretty good efforts. When you play that way, at least you're going to give yourself a chance to win."
The Flames are 5-0-1 in their last six road games. Including Thursday's match against the Phoenix Coyotes, they have three games remaining on their current trip.
"You try to play the same way every night," said Moss. "Lately, we've been doing a lot of good things. When you have a good feeling in the locker-room, you try to keep it going as long as you can, keep the confidence. Right now, that's what we've got going."

Flyers need to be better
The Philadelphia Flyers, with just four wins in their past 10 games, had fallen to ninth place in the Eastern Conference heading into Thursday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Flyers, expected to challenge for the Atlantic Division title, were 11 points behind the first-place Pittsburgh Penguins prior to Thursday action.
"It's been a roller-coaster start of the season for us," Flyers forward Danny Briere told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "We know we can be better than what we've shown so far this season. But there's also some good signs. I really like this team and the look of it. When you add players like we did, big-time players, it takes a little bit of time to jell as a team. I think that's where we are right now; we're just trying to find our groove.
"But at the same time, we're definitely not happy with where we are because we know we should be in a better position than where we are after the first two months of the season."

Ovechkin to return Monday
Washington Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin will be healthy enough to return to the lineup on Monday, the same day his two-game suspension for a knee-on-knee hit against Carolina's Tim Gleason ends.
Ovechkin himself was injured on the play, but head coach Bruce Boudreau told the Washington Post his star sniper is healthy enough to return.
Capitals general manager George McPhee called the penalty too harsh.
"It was a five-minute major, we had to kill off a five-minute penalty, and we lost the best player in the game for the rest of the game," McPhee told Washington radio station WWDC. "We only had him for three minutes of ice time, and I thought that was enough, that it should have been left there. And to tack on two more games I thought was excessive."

Howard's time is now
By his own admission, Jimmy Howard was another hotshot college prospect certain that he could just stroll into camp and ease right into a job in the National Hockey League.
The Detroit Red Wings saw it differently. They were going to ready the 2003 draft pick through the system so Howard spent way more time playing goal in the American Hockey League than he did in the NHL.
"There was a lot of learning when I came up from college. It took a little longer than I would have hoped but I'm glad they brought me along slowly," Howard said Thursday. "Now I'm better equipped to contribute."
Now 25 years old, and with 23 NHL games on his resume, the goaltender has been making inroads in this season. The Wings had decided last spring not to re-sign Ty Conklin, electing instead to turn the netminding duties over to Howard and veteran Chris Osgood.
"You have to wait for your opportunity and when you finally get it you have to make the most of it," said Howard, who played for the Maine Black Bears in the NCAA ranks.

Babcock leans on Quinn
Entrusted with Canada's Olympic hockey team, Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock made a point of meeting with Edmonton Oilers coach Pat Quinn as well as the rest of the staff, when the Red Wings were in Edmonton last month.
"I was gathering information . . . and talking about the opportunity we're going to have," Babcock said. "Those guys have been through it. They understand it way better than I do. No. 1, I'm a big fan of Pat Quinn's. Any time I've phoned him he's called me back and given me all the help I've asked for."
Quinn countered with the assertion that Babcock doesn't need his advice when it comes to players but was more than willing to share information about playing on the Olympic stage.
"He doesn't need the Xs and Os from me. He just wanted to know about all the intangibles," said Quinn, who guided Canada in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Games. "He wanted to know about people and about distractions and pressure - especially that pressure of playing in Canada. That will be one of the biggest battles they have."

Stone makes way back
After missing 19 games with a knee injury, Edmonton Oilers' Ryan Stone made his way back to the lineup. He lined up Thursday night with Zack Stortini and Robert Nilsson, who had been sidelined with a concussion, against the Detroit Red Wings.
"It feels like the first game of the year for me again. This is almost like Stage 1 again," said Stone, who won a job with his gritty play in training camp. He didn't let up in the first eight games he played. Back then the Oilers were 5-2-1 and in the top 10. They awoke on Thursday to find themselves in last place in the West.
Stone, meanwhile, will have to manage the pain as the doctors discovered cartilage damage when they went in with the arthroscope to repair torn meniscus.
"The surgeon said I might not be healed for a year but I'm not going to do any more harm to it," Stone said.