'Yotes Notes: Ekman-Larsson's 100th Goal is Game-Winner

GLENDALE -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored his 100th NHL goal in dramatic fashion on Monday night to lead the Coyotes to a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames at Gila River Arena.
The goal, which Ekman-Larsson scored on former teammate Mike Smith, gave Arizona a 3-2 lead at 16:19 of the third period, and it enabled him to join an exclusive club. Only six NHL defensemen from Sweden have tallied 100 goals in the League. The others: Nicklas Lidstrom (264), Borje Salming (150), Fredrik Olausson (147), Calle Johansson (119) and Erik Karlsson (125).
"It means a lot," Ekman-Larsson said. "Obviously it means I'm doing something good out there and I've been fortunate enough to play with some good players that have been setting me up ... It means a lot to score on Mike. Obviously we've (played) with each other and now we're playing against each other. It was a fluky goal … I saw it went in and it was a great feeling. I was just happy."

Ekman-Larsson added a lengthy empty-net goal with 1:37 left in the game to secure the win and cap a memorable evening.
"'O' played great the whole game and then for him to get that (100th) goal was tremendous," said Assistant Coach John MacLean, who served as head coach while Rick Tocchet is away from the team attending his mother's funeral.
With 101 goals, Ekman-Larsson now needs seven to tie Teppo Numminen for most goals scored by a Coyotes defenseman (108). Twenty-eight of Ekman-Larsson's goals have been game-winners, including his 100th.
"I obviously play a lot of minutes and I'm out there when you can win the games and you can lose the games," Ekman-Larsson said. "That's why I'm here and I've been fortunate to get some good looks and game-winners."

Max Domi is thrilled to have provided the primary assist on Ekman-Larsson's milestone goal.
"He's a really special player," Domi said. "You don't see guys like that, that can do what he does out there very often and we're extremely lucky to have him. Not only is he great at hockey, but he's an even better guy. He's an awesome person and deserves all the success he gets and we're all really happy for him, so it was pretty cool to be a part of that."
• Domi produced three points, two goals and one assist, to help Arizona improve to 5-0-2 in games played on Monday this season.
Domi's first goal, an unassisted beauty which he set up by stealing the puck deep in Calgary's zone, pulled Arizona into a 2-2 tie at 17:31 of the second period.
"I'll take it," Domi said of his three-point performance, the seventh multi-point game of his NHL career and first in more than a year. "All that matters is the two points that we got. That's huge and hopefully we can take that confidence on the road with us."

• Antti Raanta stopped 42 of 44 shots to earn his first victory since March 3. The win was his 16th of the season, matching his career-high for wins in a season which he set last season with the New York Rangers.
Raanta's best stop came at 1:20 of the third period when he thwarted a wraparound shot by Sam Bennett with an amazing toe save.
"He played outstanding," MacLean said. "He was focused and he was ready to play tonight, and made some huge saves early so you could tell his focus level was right where it needed to be. He was there early and he was there late for us."

• Derek Stepan notched two assists in the 93rd multi-point game of his NHL career.
• Brad Richardson won 14 of 18 face-offs.
• Tocchet is expected to rejoin the team on Wednesday in Buffalo when it plays the first game of a six-game road trip.