Miikka Kiprusoff lowered his goals-against average to 3.17 this week. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Miikka Kiprusoff is playing better, and the Calgary Flames are playing better in front of their goaltender. The club hosts the high-flying Detroit Red Wings to conclude Original Six Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 10 p.m. ET).

Kiprusoff has stopped 40 of 41 shots in his last two games, both against Colorado, earning a shutout in Thursday's 1-0 win over the Avalanche. The Finnish netminder hasn't allowed a goal in 113 minutes.

Calgary is 11-8-1 as a result, sixth in the Western Conference heading into play on Saturday.

"It's part of what we're trying to get better at here in terms of defence, and that's shots against as well as chances to score against ," coach Mike Keenan said on Friday. "It's part and parcel of trying to continue to improve, which is something we've stressed from training camp.

"We fluctuated in that part of the game a little bit, but have gotten back to the details that are necessary to get those kind of results."

While Colorado has been punchless lately, Calgary deserves credit for shoring up defensively and playing with discipline. After giving up nine power-play chances last week against San Jose — which led to four goals — the Flames were short handed just three times total in the two games against the Avalanche.

Now the Flames need to light the lamp a bit more after having scored just 12 goals in their last six games.

Daymond Langkow scored the only goal in Thursday's win, assisted by captain Jarome Iginla and Mark Giordano.

Forwards Mike Cammalleri and Todd Bertuzzi have cooled off a bit after strong starts. Cammalleri has a goal and four assists in nine games, while Bertuzzi hasn't scored in eight games, although he has contributed five assists during that span.

Detroit looking hot

Don't look now, but the Red Wings just might be the best team in the NHL again. After dropping two of the first four games of the season, Detroit is 11-1-2 in its last 14.

The Red Wings are coming off a pair of wins over Edmonton. The club beat the Oilers 4-3 on Thursday despite playing without defenceman Niklas Kronwall and pesky forward Tomas Holmstrom.

Kronwall is expected to return on Saturday, while Holmstrom will miss another game with a back injury.

No matter for the deep Detroit squad. Tomas Kopecky, who has scored more than 30 goals a season at the junior level and in the American Hockey League, filled Holmstrom's spot and scored a goal against the Oilers.

Such is the way for the team's talented younger players, who have to apprentice on the third and fourth lines — and sometimes in the press box — behind superstars like Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and, now this year, Marian Hossa.

Datsyuk also scored in the second Edmonton game, while Jiri Hudler had two goals. Defencemen Brian Rafalski and Nicklas Lidstrom each registered two assists.

While its record is stellar, nine of Detroit's 13 wins have come by just one goal. Part of the reason is that starting goalie Chris Osgood has been rarely sensational so far this season, sporting a 3.29 goals-against average.

Backup Ty Conklin has actually been more impressive in net, though he's had half as much work as Osgood.

Calgary ended a string of five straight head-to-head, regular-season defeats in the last meeting between the two clubs, a 1-0 shutout victory on Feb. 22. Kiprusoff made 38 saves in that contest.

The Flames will host Los Angeles on Tuesday before engaging Vancouver in a home-and-home series.