PREVIEW: Red Wings, Flames collide in Calgary on Saturday afternoon

CALGARY -- Goalie James Reimer will make his first start since Jan. 14 for the Detroit Red Wings when they conclude the Western Canada leg of their four-game road trip against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday afternoon.

“Alex (Lyon) has played 18 of our last 19 (games),” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. “Obviously Ville (Husso) went down with injury. The one game Alex didn’t play, Reims gave us an unbelievable performance, a win in Toronto. We expect him to be good for us (Saturday).”

Puck drop between Detroit (27-20-6; 60 points) and Calgary (25-24-5; 55 points) is set for 4 p.m. ET/2 p.m. MT on Bally Sports Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit). In their first matchup this season, the Red Wings beat the Flames, 6-2, at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 22.

Detroit is seeking its first win on the road trip after falling, 4-1, to the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. J.T. Compher scored the lone goal for the Red Wings, who moved to 7-3-3 against Pacific Division opponents this season.

“Every single one of their goals started on our sticks,” Lalonde said about the Canucks. “We got to be a little bit harder around the net. I know (Thatcher) Demko was amazing, but I still think we could have done more with his time and space.”

Reimer has a 4-6-2 record with a 3.22 goals-against average, .894 save percentage and one shutout in 14 appearances this season, and is eager to start between the pipes on Saturday.

“You train and practice enough to play games,” Reimer said. “I’m excited to get back in there and try to help the boys out so we can get back on the right track here.”

Reimer, who signed a one-year deal with the Red Wings this offseason, said sporadic playing time is sometimes part of life as an NHL goaltender.

“It’s not the situation you want to find yourself in,” Reimer said. “But you try to stay positive, be diligent with the time you have on and off the ice, make sure you’re doing what you need to do to keep getting better and also be prepared when your number gets called. I feel like I’ve done a good job of that, so it just comes down to the fun part of going out there and playing.”

Calgary enters Saturday five points back of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference and dropped its second straight game on Thursday, 6-3 to the San Jose Sharks.

Nazem Kadri leads the Flames in points (45) and assists (28) this season, while Blake Coleman (43 points) has a team-best 21 goals. Yegor Sharangovich is third on the club in scoring with 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists). Netminder Jacob Markstrom is 17-14-2 with a 2.50 GAA, .916 SV% and two shutouts in 33 games this season.

“They compete at a high level,” Lalonde said about the Flames. “Obviously their goaltending is as good as anyone in the league right now. They had that run out East, we play those teams all the time, and they rolled right through them. Again, it doesn’t get any easier. We knew this was going to be a hard road trip.”