Smith helps Flames shut out Coyotes

CALGARY -- Mike Smith made 28 saves to help the Calgary Flames defeat the Arizona Coyotes 3-0 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.
Smith, who was acquired by the Flames from the Coyotes on June 17, had 22 shutouts in six seasons with Arizona and two in 22 games this season. He has 35 NHL shutouts, including one against the Coyotes in his first NHL game, on Oct. 21, 2006, as a member of the Dallas Stars.

"I owe a lot to that organization," Smith said. "They took a chance on me when I was kind of bumping around there and really hadn't found my way yet. I became a No. 1 goalie there in Arizona. I owe a lot to them, but obviously it feels good to beat them. The shutout's a bonus, but the way we beat them was a lot more rewarding for me."
WATCH: [All Coyotes vs. Flames highlights]
Mark Jankowski scored two goals and Mikael Backlund one for the Flames (14-10-1), who have won two of the past three games.
"From start to finish we played a solid game and played smart, great goaltending again," Backlund said. "[Smith] was really good for us … he's been all year. We were happy for him to get the shutout. I thought the whole team played pretty well."

Scott Wedgewood made 41 saves for the Coyotes (6-18-4), who have lost three in a row (0-2-1) and four of five (1-3-1).
"We were out of gas," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "You could tell. Some guys were going tonight. Some guys ran out of gas. We looked like a tired hockey team. It's a lesson learned. Some guys can't give. If you're tired, you have to play a little bit smarter."
Jankowski put Calgary up 1-0 at 2:48 of the second period. Jankowski's initial shot was stopped by Wedgewood at the right post, but when he skated past the rebound he put his stick between his legs and pushed the puck under Wedgewood from behind his back.
"My momentum was taking me towards the corner after I tipped the first one on net," Jankowski said. "My only play, I guess, was to kind of bring [the stick] through my legs back to the other side. It's something you practice in warm-up and practice in case you have to use it."
Wedgewood stopped Sean Monahan from the edge of the crease at 8:33 on a pass from Johnny Gaudreau, and saved Micheal Ferland's rebound two seconds later.

Wedgewood also made a glove save on Gaudreau's redirect at 5:02 of the third period, a blocker save on Gaudreau's backhand on a partial breakaway at 8:05, and a stick save on Gaudreau's breakaway at 8:55.
Backlund extended the lead to 2-0 at 10:19, and Jankowski made it 3-0 1:52 later with a forehand-to-backhand deke off an offensive zone face-off.
"I luckily got around their 'D' and I saw their goalie kind of come out so I just tried to use my long reach and take it backhand around him," Jankowski said.
Smith made a glove save on Brad Richardson's shot from the slot at 13:10.
"He's a good goalie," Coyotes forward Max Domi said. "He played well tonight. I think he deserved that win and I'm looking forward to the next time we play against them."

Goal of the game

Jankowski's goal at 2:48 of the second period.

Save of the game

Smith's save on Alex Goligoski at 9:18 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Jankowski's goal at 12:11 of the third period.

They said it

"I think we've done a lot of talking in here and it was time we did it on the ice. I think we did the little things that we talked about and I think that's the most rewarding thing coming out of that game. It's nice to come out with the win, but the way we played in doing it was more like what we want to do and play. I think that's something to build on, for sure." -- Flames goaltender Mike Smith
"[Smith]'s a good goalie. He used to play here. I think the guys wanted to go at him, but they did a good job defensively and then in our end they had 42, 43 shots, but outside of maybe five or 10 there wasn't anything special, so I thought we did a good job in our own end." -- Coyotes goaltender Scott Wedgewood

Need to know

Forward Matthew Tkachuk (19 years, 354 days) became the second-youngest player in Flames history to reach 100 NHL games, behind Dan Quinn (19 years, 241 days) in 1985. … Arizona defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson ended a six-game point streak (four goals, three assists). … Flames forward Sam Bennett has three assists in his past two games after starting the season with two assists in his first 23 games. … Gaudreau has been held without a point in four of five games following 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in a 10-game point streak.

What's next

Coyotes:Host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-A, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Flames: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, NHL.TV)