Mike Smith makes 36 saves, Coyotes blank Flames

CALGARY -- Mike Smith made 36 saves, and Christian Dvorak had two goals and an assist for Arizona in a 5-0 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday.
The shutout was Smith's 21st with the Coyotes, tying him with Nikolai Khabibulin and Ilya Bryzgalov for most in franchise history.
"I'm just trying to be solid for the group," Smith said. "I'm back there just trying to be as consistent as possible. It's been nice to be able to have some success this year and help the team get wins."

WATCH: All Coyotes vs. Flames highlights
Ryan White had a goal and an assist, and Martin Hanzal and Jordan Martinook each scored for the Coyotes (19-28-7), who have earned at least a point in four consecutive games (3-0-1) and are 6-2-1 in their past nine.
"The team is definitely coming together as of late and we've been playing pretty well," Dvorak said. "We've got a solid record lately, and hopefully we can keep it going."
Chad Johnson and Brian Elliott combined for 27 saves for the Flames (28-26-3), who played their first game after their five-day break.

Calgary remains one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Kings have played two fewer games.
"It's frustrating," Johnson said. "We obviously know what we can do when we play well, and what happens when we don't play well is obvious here too. We're either really good or really bad. There's no middle right now."
Hanzal put Arizona up 1-0 at 6:45 of the first period. After winning the faceoff in Calgary's end, he tipped a shot by Radim Vrbata past Johnson.
Smith, who has two shutouts this season and 32 in his NHL career, made 19 saves in the first period.
"He's been phenomenal this year, and you're definitely very confident with him in the net," Dvorak said.
Dvorak made it 2-0 at 2:38 of the second period, and Martinook shot by Johnson to extend the lead to 3-0 after White's dump-in took a fortuitous bounce off the end boards.
White scored at 11:08 to push the Coyotes lead to 4-0. Defenseman Luke Schenn lost control of the puck when trying to deke Johnson, but it deflected off White's skate before crossing the goal line.
Dvorak scored his fourth goal in the past three games to make it 5-0 2:12 into the third period when his cross-crease pass deflected off Flames defenseman TJ Brodie and past Elliott, who entered in relief of Johnson to start the period.

Goal of the game

Dvorak took a pass from Brendan Perlini in the high slot before shooting over Johnson's glove to score his first of the game.

Save of the game

Smith made a quick pad save on Garnet Hathaway's tip in the high slot with two seconds remaining in the game to preserve his shutout. "You never know what happens, so you have to play it right to the buzzer," Smith said. "I was just back there trying to make saves."

Highlight of the game

Smith stopped Sean Monahan three times in one second with 3:08 remaining in the first period. He made the initial two saves with his left pad before gloving Monahan's third attempt.

Unsung performance of the game

Schenn had two assists, a plus-4 rating, four shots on goal, two blocked shots and four hits in 21:34.

They said it

"It's good for our young kids' confidence, good for our group's confidence knowing that we can play with these guys if we just play the right way, and the compete level has to be there. It's nice to see us get some wins from that because that just grows confidence. Winning is a contagious thing. We want to get used to winning a lot more." -- Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith
"You look at this game and this is a game you want to have. You should win these games. There's no other way around it. (Arizona) showed this last little bit they're not quitting. They have lots to play for as individuals over there. It's not good enough. I don't know what to say. You can make excuses, 'Oh it was the (five-day) break,' but it is what it is. I don't know what to say. It's disappointing." -- Flames goaltender Chad Johnson

Need to know

Smith has started nine games in a row for Arizona. … Monahan, at 22 years, 124 days old, is one goal from becoming the youngest player in Flames history to score 100. Joe Nieuwendyk was 22 years, 185 days when he scored his 100th on March 14, 1989. Monahan had five shots on goal in the first period, none in the second and third. … Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse did not play because of a lower-body injury. Josh Jooris, who played 119 games with the Flames from 2014-16, took his place in the Arizona lineup.

What's next

Coyotes: At the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-A, NHL.TV)
Flames:Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; SN360, SNW, TCN-PH, NHL.TV)