Game Preview: Flames vs Phoenix Coyotes

CALGARY FLAMES (25-22-7 57 points) vs. PHOENIX COYOTES (25-21-8 58 points) GAME #55

PREVIEW:

It should be a playoff type atmosphere in Phoenix tonight as the Flames head into the Desert to play the Coyotes. This is the first of four meetings between the clubs this season, with all of them coming in the next five weeks. The Flames come into Phoenix to play the back-end of a back-to-back after defeating the San Jose Sharks 4-3 last night in the Shark tank. The Coyotes on the other hand come in tonight red hot, defeating the Dallas Stars on Tuesday 4-1, for their 3^rd win in a row. The two teams are neck and neck in the playoff race as the Coyotes sit 9^th with 58 points and the Flames now sit in 10^th with 57 points after their victory last night. Depending on how Minnesota does against Vancouver tonight, the winner of this game could find themselves in the final playoff spot for the time being.

The Flames will look to cap off their mini three game road trip with another victory tonight, which would give them 5 out of a possible 6 points on the trip. A 4-3 victory in San Jose was a huge boost for the squad after a disappointing SO loss in Anaheim to kick-off the road trip. The Flames were once again led by Miikka Kiprusoff who was spectacular, stopping 34 of 37 shots, including a remarkable scorpion type save with less than a minute left to seal the victory. With the win, Kiprusoff finally recorded number 300, becoming the 27^th goalie in NHL history to reach the mark. The Flames top players were their top players last night as along with Kiprusoff, the Flames top line of Olli Jokinen, Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay combined for 9 points. Jokinen, who has been one of the best and most consistent Flames all season, recorded his seventh career hat-trick to go along with an assist.

The Coyotes are once again doing it by committee, led by one of the best coaches in the league, Dave Tippett. Ageless Ray Whitney leads the team with 49 points but has been connected to trade speculation due to his UFA status at the end of the year. Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata join Whitney as the Coyotes top trio to form the ‘Prime Line’ and have been on fire as of late, combining for 8 goals and 22 points in the Coyotes last six games. Hanzal is probably one of more under-rated centers in the league as he plays a great two-way game. The biggest surprise for the Coyotes has been goaltender Mike Smith. Many people criticized the Coyotes for signing Smith in the off-season to be their number one but Smith has very respectable numbers with 21 wins, a 2.43 GAA and a .923 save percentage.  

Tonight’s game can’t get much more important for either team. I thought the Flames played a very strong game last night in San Jose. I thought they were much better offensively with the biggest thing being shots on net. The Flames peppered 36 pucks on Niemi, beating him four times. The last time the Flames scored 4 or more goals was Jan 21 against the lowly Oilers. The Flames need to continue to play how they did last night for the remainder of the season, which means their top players have to be their top players consistently (minus Kiprusoff who has been consistent all year). The thing that worries me and I hate to be a downer but if teams start to match the Flames top line of Iggy, Jokinen and Tanguay and shut them down, who picks up the slack? Injuries to Curtis Glencross and Lee Stempniak will become even more evident in that case and players like Mike Cammalleri, Blake Comeau and even Mikael Backlund have to pick up their game offensively. Kiprusoff gets a well-deserved night off as Leland Irving will get the start. I am really excited for Irving and I think he will take full advantage of the opportunity. Another two points is on the line tonight as the playoffs continue for the Flames.

PROJECTED LINES:

Flames:                                                                        Coyotes:

1-TANGUAY-JOKINEN-IGINLA                         `           1-WHITNEY-HANZAL-VRBATA

2-CAMMALLERI-JONES-COMEAU                              2-KORPIKOSKI-GORDON-DOAN

3-BOUMA-BACKLUND-KOLANOS                               3-TORRES-LANGKOW-BOEDKER

4-KOSTOPOULOS-STAJAN-JACKMAN                        4-PYATT-CHIPCHURA-BRULE

1-BOUWMEESTER-BUTLER                                        1-YANDLE-AUCOIN

2-GIORDANO-HANNAN                                                2-EKMAN-LARSSON-KLESLA

3-BRODIE-SARICH                                                       3-ROSZIVAL-MORRIS

1-IRVING                                                                        1-SMITH         

2-KIPRUSOFF                                                                2-LaBARBERA

EXTRA- BABCHUK                                                        EXTRA- BISSONETTE, SUMMERS

INJURIES:

Flames: RW- Lee Stempniak (Ankle- IR) LW- Curtis Glencross (Knee- IR), C- David Moss (Lower Body-IR), D- Derek Smith (Ankle- IR)

Coyotes: D- David Schlemko (Lower Body- IR), D- Kurt Sauer (Head- IR)

STATS:

Flames

Coyotes

PP-

Flames: 18.3% (12^th)

Coyotes: 12.5% (29^th)

PK-

Flames: 83.5% (11^th)

Coyotes: 83.6% (10^th)

WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS:

DID YOU KNOW?

• Last ten games: Flames 5-3-2, Coyotes 5-4-1
• After going 15 games without a goal, Olli Jokinen now has 4 in his last three games. Jokinen also has 2 assists during that stretch.
• Jarome Iginla has scored in 3 straight games (3 goals).
• The Flames top trio of Iggy, Jokinen and Tanguay has combined for 17 points (8 goals, 7 assists) in the Flames last three games.
• The Flames struggled against Phoenix last year, losing all 4 meetings last season.
• Tonight will be the first time the Flames face former-Flames Daymond Langkow after trading him to the Coyotes for Lee Stempniak in the off-season.
• The Flames streak of 18 straight penalty kills on the road ended last night in San Jose. The last time the Flames allowed a PPG on the road was Jan. 5 in Boston.
• The Flames are 17-0-3 when leading after two periods.
• During the Coyotes 3-game winning streak, the Coyotes have beaten the Sharks, Red Wings and Stars, outscoring them 12-5.
• Ray Whitney (6-game point streak, 2-8-10) and Radim Vrbata (5-game point streak, 3-4-7) have been on fire as of late for the Coyotes.
• Whitney sits 25 points away from the 1,000 career milestone, which he is on pace to hit in the last game of the season.
• Mike Smith has also been strong for the Coyotes with a 1.64 GAA in his last 3 starts.
• The Coyotes are the least penalized team in the league average 7.8 penalties a game.
• The Coyotes are 21-4-5 when they score the first goal.

GAME DAY QUOTE:

"That's three games we've played how we want to play or how we have to play, we've got a lot of people really committed into doing things that make you win hockey games."

– Coyotes Coach Dave Tippett about his team’s current 3-game winning streak