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DETROIT (Ticker) --
Kris Draper
's injury provided an opportunity for
Mark Mowers
.
Replacing Draper on the "Grind Line," Mowers scored the eventual game-winner 8:02 into the third period as the surging
Detroit Red Wings
posted a 2-1 victory over the
Calgary Flames
.
Playing with
Kirk Maltby
and
Darren McCarty
, Mowers scored his third goal of the season and first since December 15, a span of 25 games.
"I just try to stay quiet," Mowers said. "I don't ask too much and when I do get the opportunity to play, I try to do the best I can."
Draper, who will be sidelined a month with a partially torn rotator cuff, missed his first regular-season game after 260 consecutive starts.
Mowers took a pass from Maltby, raced down the left side and flipped a backhander over the right shoulder of goaltender
Roman Turek
to give the
Red Wings
a 2-0 lead.
"After the morning skate, I was 90 percent sure that I'd play tonight," Mowers said. "(Draper) looked like he was hurting pretty bad when he came off. It's unfortunate when those things happen, especially to one of the good guys."
Manny Legace
made 28 saves for the
Red Wings
, who improved to 10-2-3 in their last 15 games. He lost his shutout bid with 4:59 remaining when
Jarome Iginla
scored his fourth goal in three games.
"Mowers hadn't played in a couple weeks, but he came back and scored a big goal," Legace said. "A big part of this team is the way some of the young guys have stepped up this year when guys have gone down."
Detroit took a 1-0 lead with 7:11 left in the second period on
Henrik Zetterberg
's power-play goal. Turek, who made 20 saves, stopped defenseman
Mathieu Schneider
's shot, but Zetterberg poked in the rebound for his 13th of the season.
The
Red Wings
were outshot, 12-5, in the opening period.
"We did a lot of good things out there, but the opportunities, we had we didn't finish them," Flames winger
Martin Gelinas
said. "When we get those chances, we have to finish as a team and score the big goals."
"I don't think we played well tonight, but we found a way to win,"
Red Wings
coach Dave Lewis said. "(The Flames) played hard all night but especially in the first period. Manny gave us a chance in the first period."
Detroit center
Robert Lang
, the NHL's leading scorer, had a 14-game points streak snapped.
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