|
 When the game went to the final frame tied, it was pretty easy to
guess which team would come out on top.
Right winger David Jones banged in a rebound of defenseman T.J.
Brodie's initial shot at the 4:51 mark of the third period, and the
Flames rolled to a 4-1 win over the Coyotes.
It was Calgary's second win in as many games on its five-game road
trip. The Flames also are 4-0-0 against Arizona this season.
"In the third period, we had our legs a little bit better and kind
of controlled the puck at our blue line better and created some
offense that way," said Jones, who ended an eight-game scoring
drought. "We had guys going in all night. It was just a matter of
getting a shot like that. The puck kind of just sat there for us."
The Flames (23-18-3) took advantage of some poor defensive zone
coverage by the Coyotes (16-23-4) on the game-winning goal.
Calgary center Sean Monahan found himself all alone in front for a
whack at Brodie's shot, but when he missed, the rebound caromed into
the slot and Calgary had options. Both Jones and left winger Lance
Bouma were wide open on the play, with Coyotes defenseman Michael
Stone a step slow, wings Lucas Lessio and Martin Erat out of
position and center Antoine Vermette trailing the play.
"That's people not doing their job," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett
said. "Lessio and Erat are both puck-watching, Stone is slow to get
back, and Vermette is late getting back."
Calgary center Mikael Backlund opened the scoring 1:03 into the
second period when his shot from the right circle grazed Arizona
defenseman Keith Yandle's shin pad before eluding Coyotes goalie
Mike Smith's glove. Backlund missed 29 games due to abdominal
surgery this season, but he has a goal in four straight games and
six points since returning on Jan. 7 against Detroit.
Flames rookie left winger Johnny Gaudreau had an assist on the goal
to give him 33 points in 43 games, but coach Bob Hartley still was
not satisfied with his team's offensive push.
"We wanted to put more pucks at the net," Hartley said. "I believe
we had like 12 shots after 40 minutes. That's not going to win you
many games.
"We were playing solid defensively, but we were not generating a
lot, so we had a good talk in the (locker room) and the boys
responded."
Coyotes right winger Mikkel Boedker tied the game with a
highlight-reel goal at the 12:36 mark of the second period.
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Boedker corralled a loose puck in the slot, did a full circle down
low and then back into the high slot to evade the check of Flames
defenseman Raphael Diaz, then beat Calgary goalie Joni Ortio high to
the stick side for his fifth goal in four games.
"It's not worth talking about one person when you're losing or
you're winning," said Boedker when asked about the goal. "It just
happens to fall on my stick right now and go in the back of the net,
but we're a team, and it's a team-first mentality."
Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano scored through a screen with 4:02
remaining in the game, and Monahan added an empty-netter to close
out the scoring.
Ortio made 27 saves for Calgary. He has stopped 60 of 61 shots in
his last two games.
"Orts gave us another great game," Hartley said. "He had many saves
where he had to battle through traffic and he had great focus."
Smith stopped 21 shots.
NOTES: The Coyotes traded backup G Devan Dubnyk to Minnesota on
Wednesday for a 2015 third-round pick. ... Recalled D Philip
Samuelsson made his Coyotes debut, and C Martin Hanzal (upper body)
returned to the lineup after missing the last four games. ... With
Dubnyk gone, the Coyotes recalled G Mike Lee from Gwinnett (Georgia)
of the ECHL. ... RW Shane Doan (leg) and D Brandon Gormley (lower
body) missed the game. ... The Flames recalled C Drew Shore from
Adirondack of the AHL. Shore was acquired in a trade with the
Florida Panthers last week in exchange for C Corban Knight. ...
Up-and-coming Flames LW Johnny Gaudreau has trademarked "Johnny
Hockey" at patent offices in Canada and the United States. The
applications need approval. Gaudreau, 21, has 32 points in 42 games.
He was invited to the NHL's All-Star weekend and will compete in the
skills competition.
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