DieBruderschaft.com

DETROIT -- Mikael Backlund and the Calgary Flames got their six-game road trip started in the best way possible.Backlund scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:46 left in the third period to give Calgary a 3-2 victory over the slumping Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night.This is huge, because were looking at these six games almost like a playoff series, said Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who had three assists. We know we have to pick up some wins on this trip, and this is a good start.Garnet Hathaway got his first career goal and Matt Stajan also scored for Calgary. Chad Johnson stopped 21 shots.I thought this was a very even game, but we did a nice job of capitalizing on our chances, Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. We didnt lose any momentum coming out of the Chicago game, where we played very well in a loss.Tomas Tatar and Anthony Mantha scored for Detroit, which lost its fourth straight game. Jimmy Howard made 23 saves.I think we gave them their chances. I think from the start, a few turnovers in our own end, all of a sudden they end up spending a minute, minute and a half in our end instead of making a simple play and move the play out to the neutral zone, Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said.Backlund broke a 2-all tie when he slammed Michael Froliks pass from the left circle past Howard and into the open side of the net for his second goal.We better pick ourselves up and we better come to work tomorrow to get better, Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. And we better put the work in that it takes to earn confidence come Wednesday (at Buffalo). Thats the bottom line. We better pick ourselves up in a hurry and focus on coming to win a hockey game on Wednesday.Mantha tied it 2-all 7:59 into the third with his first of the season. He put a snap shot under the crossbar on the short side after bringing the puck out from behind the net.Stajan gave the Flames a 2-1 lead at 2:31 of the third with his first goal of the season. He tipped in Hamiltons slap shot from the right point.Hathaway tied it 1-all at 3:40 of the second. Hathaway, who was beside the net and battling with a Red Wings player, got the shaft of his stick on a high shot by Hamilton from the top of the right circle and deflected it into the empty side of the net.Thats an amazing feeling. I saw Fer (Micheal Ferland) get the puck to Dougie, so I went to the net, Hathaway said. It was an odd play, because Howard was still flailing around, so I wasnt sure if he had the puck or if it had gone in. Ill probably tell people that I sniped it -- that sounds a lot better. Weve still got five more road games, so it is big to get this one and get some momentum.Tatar gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 8:06 into the game. He blindly slid a puck toward the net from the high slot that beat Johnson. It was Tatars third goal and only his second in 14 games.Howard was forced to make a couple of saves in close after Red Wings giveaways deep in their zone.Detroit defenseman Alexey Marchenko left with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Ferland with a little less than 5:30 left in the second period. Blashill said Marchenko will likely be out a little while and the team would have more information Monday.Game notes Detroit LW Thomas Vanek returned after missing 11 games with a hip injury. The Red Wings were 3-7-1 without Vanek and averaged under two goals per game. He had four goals and eight points in seven games. ... Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau missed his second game after sustaining a broken finger on a slash by Minnesota C Eric Staal. Gaudreau will miss six to eight weeks. ... Red Wings C Darren Helm missed his second game after dislocating his shoulder. He also will be out six to eight weeks.UP NEXTFlames: Visit the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.Red Wings: Visit the Sabres on Wednesday night. Two Premier League titles aside, Manchester City finally showed once and for all they are ready to be counted among Europes elite clubs.Coming off what could be a franchise-altering victory over Barcelona, City now try to avoid the dreaded letdown Saturday when they host new boys Middlesbrough.Things looked bleak at the Etihad on Tuesday after the Citizens fell behind 1-0 on Lionel Messis goal in the 21st minute. Here were Manchester City (7-2-1), playing with their backup goalkeeper, their confidence still fragile with one win in their last seven matches and on the verge of seeing the Catalan giants -- the class of Europe -- put together another one of their masterpieces that would again expose the gulf in class between the sides.Instead, Pep Guardiolas charges dug in against his former side and weathered the onslaught. And a goal by Ilkay Gundogan on 39 minutes leveled the match and changed the fortunes of Manchester City, likely for the short term and possibly forever.The hallmarks of high pressing and fluid passing Guardiola instilled at Barcelona now became Citys, and they took advantage of a weakened Spanish spine minus Gerard Pique and Andres Iniesta to add second-half goals by Kevin De Bruyne and Gundogan again for a 3-1 victory that left them needing only three more points to secure passage back into the knockout round of the Champions League.If you talk about the first 30 minutes, we are not able to compare against the best teams, Guardiola said. This club was 25, 30 years out of Europe, while Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich were playing every year.We need time. We are three or four months into playing a different way. We try and now we won against the best team. For the future generations they are going to realise: wow these guys are able to beat the best team.Gundogan has played every bit the part of the ￡20 million transfer fee City paid Borussia Dortmund over the summer of late with braces in back-to-back contests. The German international had scored just once in his first eight matches after missing most of summer training due to a dislocated kneecap.While Sergio Aguero did not score, Guardiola singled out his striker for a relentless effort in leading the high line of pressure that unnerved Barcas backline, noting that he played awesome.It was also the type of effort City supporters had been waiting for Raheem Sterling to give since his arrival from Liverpool priior to last season -- running into the ground and being smart with possession, evidenced by his pass to set up Gundogans first goal.dddddddddddd Yet for everything City did right, and there was plenty they did right, it could all go for naught without a victory to follow this weekend.The game against Middlesbrough will be another tough test, it will be completely different than against Barcelona, but in the end, we have to do the job and win the game, De Bruyne said.So into the cauldron of the Etihad enter Middlesbrough (2-4-4), still trying to find their bearings in the top flight and looking for any and every way to find points now that will help them in the relegation scrap they will likely endure come springtime.Boro snapped a six-match winless streak last Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Bournemouth as Gaston Ramirez and Stewart Downing scored on either side of halftime, and they recorded a second consecutive clean sheet after shipping nine goals the previous five matches.We defended as a team -- mistakes have cost us in the past, Downing told the teams official website. Everyone put a shift in but thats what you need, everyone on your mettle when youre going for points in the Premier League.Manager Aitor Karanka will have a few more options to choose from in his starting XI for this match as Marten de Roon and leading scorer Christian Stuani are expected to be available. Additionally, midfielder and talisman Grant Leadbitter could also make the squad after playing for Boros Under-23 team Monday.I said always how important he is for the team, Karanka said. Even when he was injured, he was traveling with the team, and you can feel his character on the pitch and in the changing room.Now with him training and playing it is a massive and important thing for us.Even with the reinforcements, expect Middlesbrough to be compact against Manchester City similar to how they held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw despite conceding 70 percent possession to the Gunners.The teams last met in the top flight in the 2008-09 season, when the home team held serve in both matches. Middlesbrough have had the better of the rivalry in the Premier League era with 11 wins in 20 matches (11-5-4), highlighted by an 8-1 thrashing on May 11, 2008, in which Downing had two goals and an assist. ' ' '