The Calgary Flames hit the ice for morning skate at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday morning ahead of their meeting with the Detroit Red Wings. And two familiar faces were on the ice for the duration, wearing yellow “no-contact” jerseys: captain Mikael Backlund and alternate captain Jonathan Huberdeau.

Backlund and Huberdeau were on the ice about a half-hour before the rest of the group, shooting on emergency backup netminder Dustin Nickel. They stuck around for the remainder of the morning skate, too.

Speaking on Saturday morning, Flames head coach Ryan Huska provided updates on Backlund and Huberdeau’s injury statuses.

“Backland, he’s closer,” said Huska. “Huby’s going to join us periodically. I mean, he’s not close right now, but he’s doing the steps that we need him to take along the way. So I felt good for him out there. That was a nice milestone for him. You can tell by the energy that he had being around the team. But it’s going to be something that over the next while, it’ll be periodically where he’ll pop into one of our practices, depending on what we’re doing.”

Backlund was injured in Sunday’s win over the Carolina Hurricane, suffering an upper body injury on a late-game hit from William Carrier. He remains out day-to-day. Huberdeau underwent hip resurfacing surgery in early March after dealing with hip discomfort for much of the season – and probably longer. No timeline is in place for Huberdeau’s return, as the club takes things slow and tries to ensure that their highest-paid player is pain-free when he returns to action.

Forward Sam Honzek wasn’t on the ice on Saturday as he deals with a lower body injury suffered on Oct. 8 against Colorado and, as of last update from the team, he remains out week-to-week.

The Flames host the Red Wings for the final time at the Saddledome on Saturday night.

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