ment.Whoever starts faces a Washington team that has three points in its last two g

CALGARY, Alberta -- The Calgary Flames struggled to win with Johnny Gaudreau. Now they face a long stretch in which they must win without him.The Flames play their second game without their injured star on Friday, hosting a Chicago Blackhawks squad that is infinitely better than the team they defeated in their first game without Gaudreau on Wednesday, the Arizona Coyotes.Every guy recognizes that we lost a really good player and now collectively we have to play a certain way to get ourselves in a position to get points in this league, Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan said. Its certainly hurt us as a hockey club, but we look at it as something we can rally around and try to find a true identity here.Gaudreau underwent surgery Wednesday afternoon after breaking a finger the night before when slashed by Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. He is expected to miss about six weeks, Calgary general manager Brad Treliving said.The Flames (7-10-1) beat the Wild 1-0 on Tuesday on Gaudreaus goal and followed it up the next night by eking out a 2-1 overtime victory over Coyotes, who are last overall in the 30-team league.Up next, however, is one of the leagues elite squads, Chicago, which is third overall entering Fridays play. The Blackhawks (11-4-2) began a seven-game road trip with a 4-0 loss in Winnipeg on Tuesday, which ended their seven-game winning streak and marked the first time they failed to gain at least a point in 11.Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is very conscious that the chasing teams arent far behind.Theres a real big pack in the middle; everybody seems to be just around the .500 mark, he told the Chicago Tribune. The way weve been playing, were fortunate where we are in the standings. Its a tremendous pack where everybodys in the mix and there are no easy games.The Flames took Thursday off from both skating and answering questions about how they were going to overcome the loss of Gaudreau, who after struggling to start the season appeared to be rounding into form. He had three goals in his last two games.Were sort of working around a six-week timeframe (for his absence), Treliving said. Hopefully its shorter. ...We dont have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We have to come together. ... Everyone has injuries. You deal with them.The Blackhawks began their 13-day road trip unhappy with their play despite not having lost in regulation since Oct. 21 prior to the Winnipeg setback. Expectations certainly are higher for a team chasing first place overall than they are for someone like the Flames, who are just trying to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.Its not how you want to start (the trip) at all, Quenneville told the Chicago Sun-Times. We have tougher games as we keep going. They keep getting tougher and tougher and tougher. Theres no easy games on the road anymore. Weve had a favorable schedule here, and we know we have to play much better. B.J. Finney Jersey . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Travon McMillian Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. http://www.cheapsteelersjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-justin-layne-jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Mason Rudolph Jersey . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Devlin Hodges Jersey . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals look to build on Wednesdays blowout of the Pittsburgh Penguins when they continue their five-game homestand Friday night against the Detroit Red Wings.Washington (10-4-2) moved into a second-place tie with the Penguins in the Metropolitan Division with a resounding 7-1 win. The victory followed a four-game stretch in which the Capitals had mustered only five goals.Now the task will be to follow it up against Detroit (8-8-1), losers of two straight.Theres been times in the last week or so where portions of games havent been that bad. Were doing a few good things but it just wasnt sustained enough where tonight I thought we were pedal to the metal the whole way, Matt Niskanen said after Wednesdays victory. Got a nice little homestand here ... hopefully look for some good results here.Linemates Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie scored two goals apiece, while Dmitry Orlov, Justin Williams (his second goal of the season) and Alex Ovechkin (his first goal in five games) also tallied. After five games without a power-play goal, Washington netted two against Pittsburgh.Backstrom, of one the games best assist men, has three goals in two games.Hes got a terrific shot, Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. Its quick, its accurate and its very deceptive, so yes, I think anytime he gets a chance, (he should) not be afraid to shoot it because he shoots it pretty well.After sitting for two games, a well-rested Braden Holtby lost his bid for his first shutout with just over three minutes remaining. Hes 6-2, with a 1.97 goals- against average and .931 save percentage versus the Red Wings.Deetroit learned this week it will be without forward Darren Helm for at least six weeks after he suffered a shoulder injury in Tuesdays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay.dddddddddddd He had four goals and three assists over 17 games. Riley Sheahan, still looking for his first goal of the season, could move into the third-line center spot.With Darrens injury, that could give some more opportunity to Riley, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill told the Detroit Free Press. He had lots of opportunity early, and then his opportunity went away here in the last little bit. Its hard to produce when you dont get the opportunity.Goalie Petr Mrazek (4-5-1, 3.16) has allowed four goals in each of his last four starts. Jimmy Howard (4-3, 1.80) could get the start Friday night, though hes 3-1-3 with 3.15 goals-against average and .890 save percentage versus the Capitals.Jimmy has played really good, Blashill said. Hes done what he has had to do in terms of putting up the numbers when given the opportunity, in terms of winning hockey games when you can and giving ourselves the best chance to win. Jimmy has made a good statement.Whoever starts faces a Washington team that has three points in its last two games and appears locked in again on offense.Weve just got to get the joy back in our game a little bit, Trotz said. We know we can play more consistent, but at the same ti