Flames captain Jarome Iginla is fourth in the NHL with 16 goals. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

After a brief stop at home to do some laundry, drop off the groceries and beat the Phoenix Coyotes, the Calgary Flames hit the road again Friday to visit the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.

The Flames did a mini two-game swing through California last week before coming home to beat the Coyotes on 2-1 Wednesday, and now begin a six-game road trip.

Not that Calgary will be bothered by doing another hotel tour — the Flames are one of the best road teams in the NHL, owning a 7-1-3 mark away from the Saddledome.

And they're facing an opponent that's on the ropes: The once mighty Red Wings are now, well, looking not so mighty.

Since climbing within a point of tying Chicago for the Central Division lead —thanks to a 6-1-0 stretch to begin November — the Wings (11-8-4) have lost four of five and now trail the surging Blackhawks by eight points, sitting 10th in the West.

Calgary is faring much better. The squad has stayed right with Colorado, who flew out of the gate, and now the Flames can take over top spot in the Northwest Division with a win Friday night coupled with an Avs' loss.

Two players are responsible for the Flames' success in the standings: captain Jarome Iginla and goalie Miikka Kiprusoff.

Top scorer

Iginla is among the top scorers in the league, and has helped insulate a rough stretch for the Flames' offence. The Calgary forward sits fourth in the NHL in goals (16), but the team as a whole has scored two goals or fewer in six of its last eight games.

But Iginla hasn't scored against the Wings in almost six years, and has only eight assists in the last 18 meetings between the two sides.

The Edmonton native got some help from his teammates during the 2-1 win over Phoenix at home on Wednesday: Daymond Langkow scored along with Nigel Dawes while Iginla was held off the scoresheet.

"Obviously, whenever you're in a little bit of a slump, it's nice to get that one," Dawes, who scored his first in 13 games, said afterward. "I haven't been getting to the areas that I need to."

Langkow looks like he's heating up — he now has three goals in his last three games.

Kiprusoff has sparkled at times, especially on the road. He's 6-1-3 record with a 2.14 goals-against average and one shutout in 10 road games this season, and is 13-5-3 with a 2.49 GAA overall.

The Flames' scoring troubles look miniscule when compared with the Wings' struggles. The defending Western Conference champs have been held to a goal or less in four of their last five games, and all four turned into losses.

Rough patch

Eight forwards have goalless streaks of five or more games, and leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg has been held to just one assist in his last four games.

Injury troubles haven't helped. The Wings really miss forwards Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and Jason Williams. Williams (ankle) and Filppula (wrist) are out until at least late December, while Franzen (knee) is gone until mid-February.

"It is like beating a dead horse, but anytime we've had success here over the years, we got contributions out of all four lines," forward Kirk Maltby told the Detroit News.

The Wings are also missing defenceman Andreas Lilja (concussion), and Niklas Kronwall (leg).

Calgary's injury line is much smaller than Detroit's. Forward René Bourque, the only injured Flames, has an undisclosed injury but skated at practice on Wednesday and is close to returning.

Bourque, 27, is second in scoring (21 points) on the team behind Iginla (23). Bourque hasn't played since the 7-1 drubbing Calgary took against Chicago on Nov. 19.

With files from The Associated Press