5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. COYOTES
The Flames look to get back in the win column in the final meeting of the season with the Desert Dogs
By
Ryan Dittrick
CalgaryFlames.com
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's game
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Projected Lineup
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (101)
Goals - Elias Lindholm (38)
Coyotes:
Points - Clayton Keller (63)
Goals - Clayton Keller (28)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 23.7% (9th) / PK - 83.8% (6th)
Coyotes:
PP - 14.2% (29th) / PK - 72.8% (32nd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.86% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 55.90% (2nd)
Coyotes:
Shot Attempts: 44.15% (32nd)
High-Danger Chances: 42.45% (32nd)
The Flames had their five-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
Dillon Dube supplied the game's opening tally off a pretty feed from Tyler Toffoli, but the visitors roared back with six unanswered goals in a 6-1 win.
Jacob Markstrom was replaced by Dan Vladar after allowing four goals on 17 shots, but he was hardly at fault. The No.-1 puck-stopper - whose .922 save percentage and nine shutouts have earned Vezina consideration this year - was arguably the team's best player in his 28:46 of work.
"I don't like doing that," Head Coach Darryl Sutter said of making the switch. "I've said that, always. I'm not a guy who pulls goalies.
"But I think tonight was different. The other night, was trying to get some momentum out of our team because it was after the second period. But tonight, it was more I thought the players really let him down.
"I didn't want to leave him in there."
Vladar stopped six of eight the rest of the way.
The Flames actually outshot the Golden Knights 36-25 including a 12-5 edge in the third period alone, but a four-goal middle frame sealed their fate.
Trailing the LA Kings by three points for the final Pacific Division playoff spot entering night, it was a game that Vegas had to have. With the win, the deficit is down to one, with the Knights continuing to hold a game in hand.
"Urgency. Energy. Emotion. Those things," Sutter said of how the game played out. "One team was way more focused and urgent."
Tonight, the Flames will look into get back in the win column and officially punch their ticket to the playoffs. Calgary will clinch if it earns at least a single point against Arizona, OR if Columbus defeats Los Angeles in any fashion, OR if Edmonton defeats Vegas in regulation.
UPDATE:
Tweet from @NHLFlames: WE ARE IN! pic.twitter.com/4xaLG1PXKC
"We're in first place in our division for a reason," said Matthew Tkachuk. "So, we'll be fine. I don't think you turn the page completely. You realize what went wrong and then you drop it."
Video: "We need to think long and hard on that"
Um. Ditto?
The Coyotes are licking their wounds after falling 7-1 to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
They've now surrendered five or more goals in each of their past five outings, while the offence - featuring a league-worst 181 goals this year - has only six in that span.
It's been a rough stretch for the Desert Dogs, who are playing out the string and will miss the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 seasons.
While the results haven't been there, the team is playing hard and is trying to set a foundation for training camp in the fall.
"I like the way we played in the third period," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny told Kevin Woodley of NHL.com. "We showed more pride in the third period. For me, that's our team. That's the way we have to fight. … We gave up, what, 27 shots? There are some positives there."
Andrew Ladd scored Arizona's lone goal, while rookie sensation Karel Vejmelka allowed six goals on 22 shots before being pulled after two periods.
Thirty-two-year-old Harri Sateri - playing in only his 11th NHL game after spending most his career in the KHL - tagged in and made four stops in relief.
The Canucks went 3-for-4 on the powerplay.
J.T. Miller led the way for the homeside with five assists - including two on the man-advantage.
"I'm disappointed about the number of penalties and the way we took our penalties," Tourigny said. "We know they feed off their powerplay a lot, so we give them the opportunity and they did what they had to do."
This 'n That: The Coyotes are without star forward Clayton Keller, who suffered a broken femur after crashing heavily into the end boards on March 31. He will be out for 4-6 months. … Former Calgary Hitmen star Andrew Ladd is three games away from 1,000 in his career.
COURTESY OF FLAMES PR
FIRST & FOREMOST: The Flames have scored the first goal of the game an NHL-high 48 times this year, and are 35-9-4 when doing so.
BACKEND FORTH:The Flames have the fifth-most points by defencemen, league wide, with 180 (36G, 144A). Rasmus Andersson tops the charts with a career-high 46 (4G, 42A), while Noah Hanifin is not far behind with 41 (8G, 33A) - also, a personal high-water mark.
HOME HERO: Johnny Gaudreau is tied for the second-most home points in the NHL this season with 54, tied with Connor McDavid. (Matthew Tkachuk, meanwhile, is hot on his tail, with 53 of his 92 points coming at the Scotiabank Saddledome.) Gaudreau is also tied for second in even-strength points at home with 40, tied with Minnesota forward Kirill Kaprizov.
Stick tap to Flames PR guru Dalton Ulrich for compiling these nuggets
Video: "They're the first ones to critique themselves"
Flames - Dillon Dube
Dube scored the Flames' only goal on Thursday and has been buzzing over the past few weeks.
He now has points in two of his last three games (1G, 2A) and could be a real x-factor for the Flames in the playoffs.
Coyotes - Phil Kessel
Kessel is the NHL's active iron man, playing in 974 straight games.
He had an assist on Thursday in Vancouver and enters the night with 45 points (7G, 38A) on the year.
With 204 career goals, Johnny Gaudreau needs only two to tie Eric Vail for the ninth-most in franchise history. ... Gaudreau's 101 points this year are the 10th-most in Flames lore, and will soon tie Al MacInnis (1990-91) and Mike Bullard (1987-88) at 103 for the eighth-most points in a single season.
