(Sports Network) - The Calgary Flames will try to win three in a row for the first time in two months when they visit the Minnesota Wild in tonights Northwest Division battle at Xcel Energy Center. The Flames, who are two points out of a playoff spot in the West, posted consecutive victories to close a three-game homestand with a 2-0-1 record. Calgary scored five goals in each win, and with another triumph this evening, the Flames can post three straight victories for the first time Jan. 7-12. Calgary earned its most recent win Friday night against Winnipeg, as Alex Tanguay posted a goal and three assists to help lift the Flames to the 5-3 decision over the Jets. Tanguay recorded a season-high in points and the veteran winger has two goals and seven assists during a five-game point streak. Jarome Iginla had a goal and two assists for the Flames, who are tied with Los Angeles for the 10th seed in the conference and are two points behind Colorado for the Wests eighth spot. Miikka Kiprusoff made 42 saves to improve his season record to 30-19-8. Kiprusoff has reached 30 wins in each of the last seven seasons for Calgary. Calgary jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 13 minutes of the game, only to let Winnipeg cut the deficit to 3-2 by the end of the first period. The Flames scored the games next two goals to build a 5-2 advantage. "After the first period tonight, we went in and we talked about how we wanted to play and how we wanted to start our second period, and I thought we did a really good job with it," Flames head coach Brent Sutter said. Due to a rash of injuries, the Flames were forced to recall top forward prospect Sven Baertschi from his junior team on an emergency basis and the 13th overall pick of the 2011 draft made his NHL debut on Friday. Baertschi notched a shot on goal in just over nine minutes of ice time. Calgary is currently without injured forwards Tim Jackman (upper body), Lee Stempniak (high ankle sprain), Blair Jones (cracked ankle), Mikael Backlund (shoulder), Michael Cammalleri (upper body), Blake Comeau (upper body) and Lance Bouma (upper body). The Flames, who are 13-15-7 as the guest this year, will be on the road for just one game before returning to Calgary for a two-game residency against San Jose and Phoenix. The Wild, who are eight points out of a playoff spot in the West, ended a five-game losing streak with Thursdays 3-2 shootout win in Phoenix. Dany Heatley scored the game-winner in the fifth round of the decisive phase for Minnesota. After Wild netminder Matt Hackett stoned Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the top half of the fifth round, Heatley had a chance to win it. The former 50-goal scorer went in on goal with speed, shifted to his backhand in close and slid the puck through the legs of Jason LaBarbera for the winner. Kyle Brodziak and Steven Kampfer scored in regulation and Josh Harding stopped all 24 shots he saw before leaving in the second period with an injury. Hackett gave up two goals on 17 shots, but came up huge for his team in the shootout. "It was an unbelievable character win," Wild head coach Mike Yeo said. "Im really proud of the effort the guys put in." With Harding joining No. 1 netminder Niklas Backstrom on the shelf, Hackett is expected to get the start tonight for the Wild. Tonights tilt marks the start of a five-game homestand for Minnesota, which is 15-12-4 as the host this season. The Flames have won three straight against the Wild since dropping a 3-0 decision in Calgary on Nov. 8. The Wild have still won seven of 12 overall in this series, but Calgary has claimed two wins in its last three trips to St. Paul. Michael Taylor Nationals Jersey . 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Lions are in talks with former Lion Khalif Mitchell about a possible return to Vancouver.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Although Jason Collins played only 10 1/2 minutes in his first game with the Brooklyn Nets, his groundbreaking appearance meant the world to an entire segment of fans. Collins became the first openly gay player in the four major U.S. professional sports leagues, and Deron Williams had a season-high 30 points along with seven assists in a 108-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. "I know that I can play in the NBA and it felt good to be out there tonight," Collins said. "Conditioning-wise, I felt good. I dont think I got tired. It was a lot of fun to get back out on the court and set screens, hard fouls. Didnt take any charges tonight — thatll change. Ill get in position next time. As far as basketball timing, its going to take at least a couple of practices." Collins signed a 10-day contract Sunday, nearly 10 months after his announcement on April 29 in Sports Illustrated. He had two rebounds and five fouls and didnt score. "Hes a basketball player. Hes been doing this for a long time, so that didnt change," Williams said. "Maybe outside perception did, but inside this locker room it wasnt a big deal or a distraction. It was just another game for us. But he played huge for us. He made big plays on defence and was instrumental in this win tonight. I know hes been sitting around waiting for a job, and were excited about having Jason." The 12-year veteran spent his first six-plus NBA seasons with the Nets and helped them get to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. This was the 35-year-old centres first NBA game since April 17, 2013, with the Washington Wizards. "In the society we live in, you know this was going to happen eventually," teammate Paul Pierce said. "He is a guy whos going to be able to open the door for so many athletes — not only in America but around the world — to feel comfortable to come out and not feel embarrassed and feel like theyre welcomed in the sports world. It isnt about race, gender or sexuality. Its about being a part of a team and caring for one another. Thats all that matters at the end of the day." Pierce had 25 points and seven rebounds, helping end an 11-game Nets losing streak against the Lakers. Pau Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who never led and lost for the 24th time in 30 games with Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Xavier Henry all sidelined by injuries. Brooklyn played without Kevin Garnett, who was rested following Saturday nights 93-86 loss at Golden State. Shaun Livingston also didnt play because of a bruised tailbone that occurred in the first half against the Warriors. Marcus Thornton, who joined the club following Wednesdays trade that sent Reggie Evans and Jason Terry to Sacramento, has yet to see action for the Nets because of food poisoning. Nick p;Young played for the first time since Feb.dddddddddddd 5, scoring 10 points in 19 minutes for the Lakers after missing six games with a fracture in his left knee. Nets general manager Billy King, in need of a post player after losing centre Brook Lopez for the season on Dec. 20 with a broken right foot — and failing to acquire another one before last Thursdays trading deadline — took a chance on the 7-foot, 255-pound Collins. Collins also has played for Memphis, Minnesota, Atlanta and Boston, where he was a teammate of Pierce and Garnett last season. Sunday was a homecoming, as he was born in Northridge, Calif., and played his high school ball at Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood. Collins new coach is an old Nets teammate — Jason Kidd. "Its just another step in the right direction. I think its the advancements weve made as people and will continue to make advancements," Lakers point guard Kendall Marshall said. "As far as Im concerned, when I see him, I see him as a great defender — a guy that protects the paint and finishes around the rim. Thats all I see when Im out there. They needed help inside, and hes definitely going to be somebody who can help them with that." Collins scheduled pregame press conference was delayed about 15-20 minutes while he was still getting his physical. He reported into the game with 10:28 left in the second quarter and the Nets leading 35-26 after the Lakers Nick Young made the first of his two free throws. The sellout crowd welcomed Collins with a nice ovation when public address announcer Lawrence Tanter announced his name, and he spent 4 minutes and 15 seconds on the court during his first stint while the Nets increased their lead to 16 points. "It was very inspiring, how he just came in and was ready. He did the same thing for us last year with Boston," Pierce said. "You expect nothing but professionalism from Jason. Hes much needed around here with the lack of big men we have, especially with Kevin playing limited games in back-to-back moments. Jasons going to be big for us." Kirilenko made his first start of the season in Livingstons place and had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes. Rookie Mason Plumlee made his second NBA start in Garnetts spot, and the Nets didnt miss a beat — using 14 points by Pierce to build a 31-12 lead with 3:35 left in the first quarter. NOTES: Bad timing Dept.: ESPN had this game on its original schedule, but dropped it a few weeks ago because of the Lakers dismal record and Bryants injury. As a result, the network settled for the Houston-Phoenix game instead. ... The Lakers hosted the Nets for the first time since Nov. 20, 2012, the night Mike DAntoni coached his first game with Los Angeles. 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