Calgary 2, Arizona 1
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees:
Graham Skilliter, Francois St. Laurent
Linesmen:
Brian Mach, Vaughan Rody
Attendance:
10210
By The Sports Xchange
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving cited three keys to his team's recent surge: special teams, the goaltending of Chad Johnson and the improved performance of the top players. All three were on display Thursday at Gila River Arena.
Captain Mark Giordano scored a power-play goal, Calgary killed off all three Arizona power plays, Johnson made 27 saves, Johnny Gaudreau had two assists, and Dougie Hamilton scored at 1:09 of overtime to lift the Flames to their fifth straight win, a 2-1 decision over the Arizona Coyotes.
"They're really good defensively with a good goaltender so we knew it was going to be tight-checking," said Hamilton, who split Arizona's Shane Doan and Brendan Perlini and then deked to his backhand for the game-winning goal. "It's really similar to the last time we played them so we're just happy to come out on top."
Mike Smith made 33 saves for Arizona, which scored two goals or fewer for the 11th time in the past 14 games. The Coyotes (8-13-5) lost a season-high sixth game in a row (0-3-3), but coach Dave Tippett was much happier with his team's effort in a game where the Coyotes had three fights.
"We had a lot of guys compete hard," Tippett said. "There's still a few guys that have got to get the message a little clearer. I would have liked to see us give ourselves some chances by hitting the net but for the most part it seemed like a good first step to get out of a rut."
Johnson is 10-2-0 since taking over the starting goaltending duties from Brian Elliott. He has allowed two goals or fewer in nine of those games.
"He's getting an opportunity here to run with it and he has taken advantage of it," Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan said. "I think it's been a good fit for our club, him here. He's really calm in the net and he's gotten on a roll which has helped us get on a roll."
Max Domi put the Coyotes on top at 7:23 of the first period. Domi, who left the game after the second period with an upper-body injury from a fight, collected a loose puck to the left of the Calgary net during a lengthy goalmouth scrum and slid it past Johnson, who was out of position to the side of the net after getting tangled with a teammate.
Captain Shane Doan collected an assist on Domi's fourth goal of the season, giving him the franchise record for assists in a career with 554, passing Thomas Steen.
Doan is one of five players who own franchise records in all of these categories: games played (1,492), goals (399), points (953), power-play goals (126) and game-winning goals (69). The others are Ron Francis (Carolina), Joe Sakic (Colorado), Rick Nash (Columbus) and Mike Modano (Dallas).
Calgary (15-13-2) tied the game on a first-period power play with Coyotes right winger Anthony Duclair in the box for tripping. Giordano took a feed at the left circle from Gaudreau and ripped a one-timer under Smith's pad at 17:45.
Gaudreau has multiple points in all three games since his return from a broken pinkie.
"He's playing at a high level," Treliving said. "You have to have your best players doing that to win in this league."
NOTES: Flames LW Lance Bouma returned to the lineup after missing 17 games with a shoulder injury. ... Calgary RW Kris Versteeg sat out for what the team called a maintenance day. ... Coyotes coach Dave Tippett reunited the line of LW Tobias Rieder, C Martin Hanzal and RW Anthony Duclair that played together for most of last season but had not played together this season. The hope was to break Duclair out of a season-long scoring slump. ... The Flames recalled D Tyler Wotherspoon from Stockton of the AHL on Thursday, but he was scratched. ... Coyotes GM John Chayka said the team is no longer looking for help on its blue line because of the play of rookie defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Anthony DeAngelo. ... The Coyotes have not ruled out a return this season by C Brad Richardson, who broke his tibia and fibula on Nov. 17 at Vancouver, but the team will not set a timeline.
Top Game Performances
| Calgary |
|
Arizona |
|
Johnny Gaudreau 2 |
Points |
Max Domi 1 |
|
Mark Giordano 1 |
Goals |
Max Domi 1 |
|
Johnny Gaudreau 2 |
Assists |
Shane Doan 1 |
|
Mark Giordano 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Chad Johnson .964 |
Save Percentage |
Mike Smith .943 |
|
Chad Johnson 27 |
Saves |
Mike Smith 33 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Calgary
|
35 |
2 |
1-4 |
3-3 |
23 |
30 |
| Arizona
|
28 |
1 |
0-3 |
3-4 |
35 |
31 |
Upcoming Games
-
Arizona will play their next game at home against Nashville. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .294 after a loss.
-
Calgary will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Flames have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .438 after a loss.
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