Raanta wins ninth in 10 starts, Coyotes top Flames

CALGARY -- Antti Raanta made 42 saves, and Kevin Connauton and Christian Fischer each had a goal and an assist to help the Arizona Coyotes to a 4-1 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.
Richard Panik and Dylan Strome also scored, and Max Domi had two assists for the Coyotes (29-40-11), who have won four of the past five games (4-1-0) and are 11-6-1 in their past 18.

"When we got a couple wins early in January it turned it around," Raanta said. "We started to play the game … sometimes you didn't play well but you stayed in the games. You were working hard and then you found one chance and you'd score a goal and win the game. That's going to be huge for the future for all the young guys to know what it takes to win in this league."
WATCH: [All Coyotes vs. Flames highlights]
Raanta, who was named the NHL's second star for the week ending April 1, is 6-1-0 with a 1.29 goals-against average and .961 save percentage since returning from a lower-body injury on March 17, and 9-1-0 in his past 10 starts.
"His confidence is through the roof," said Domi, who has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past three games. "When you're playing against the best players in the world and you're playing as good as he is it's easy to ride that wave. We're really happy to see that."

Nicholas Shore scored, and Jon Gillies made 17 saves for the Flames (36-34-10), who have lost eight of the past nine games (1-8-0), and have allowed at least four goals in seven of them.
"I don't think the guys are not putting the effort in, it's just not coming easy for us right now," Calgary forward Tanner Glass said. "We're working and we're going to get those chances, but it's not going in."
The Coyotes and Flames each have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
Panik gave Arizona a 1-0 lead at 3:48 of the first period when he tipped Connauton's point shot by Gillies, and Connauton extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:39 with his 11th goal of the season, and 10th since Feb. 1.
"I'm playing a lot more confident," Connauton said. "I'm using my skating, using my shot. Had a rough year last year with injuries and then sitting out, so the beginning of the year I was still trying to get back to my game. I think that I'm back there now."

Fischer made it 3-0 at 2:18 of the second period when Josh Archibald's pass hit him in the skate before deflecting off Gillies and Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. The goal was Fischer's first in 31 games.
"It's funny how it goes in like that when I've had five breakaways the last three games," Fischer said. "It's good to go in. Stuff always creeps into your mind. Everyone goes through it at some point."
Shore cut the lead to 3-1 at 4:32.
Raanta made three straight saves on Spencer Foo in a seven-second span beginning at 10:11 of the third period, and stopped Mark Jankowski on consecutive shots at 11:29.

"Probably not enough dangerous [shots]," Glass said. "We've got to get inside. He was good tonight, but we need to get into those dirty areas to get to some of those rebounds."
Strome made it 4-1 at 12:50.

Goal of the game

Connauton's goal at 16:39 of the first period.

Save of the game

Raanta's save on Glass at 16:47 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Fischer's goal at 2:18 of the second period.

They said it

"I think we capitalized on the few chances we did have. That's another positive. It was kind of a weird game. When we had the chance to bury it, we did." -- Coyotes forward Max Domi
"Not the start we wanted but then we started playing pretty well in the second, and then all of a sudden another one pops in the back of our net off a tough bounce. That's just the way the game goes sometimes." -- Flames forward Spencer Foo

Need to know

The Coyotes have 23 points since March 1. They had 23 points combined in October, November and December. … Arizona forward Clayton Keller had an assist and has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in his past 13 games. Keller, who led all rookies with 13 assists and 19 points in 17 games in March, was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month on Monday. … Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun left in the first period with a lower-body injury. … Calgary is 0-for-30 on the power play in the past 12 games, and 1-for-48 in the past 17. … Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has one assist in his past six games. ... Foo had a game-high seven shots.

What's next

Coyotes: At the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SN360, SNE, SNO, SNP, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)
Flames: At the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, SNW, NHL.TV)