Gaudreau scores three points in Flames win against Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists, and the Calgary Flames ended a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Thursday.
Sam Bennett, Sean Monahan, Mark Jankowski and Matthew Tkachuk scored for Calgary (31-22-9), which is one point behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, and two points behind the Anaheim Ducks for third place in the Pacific Division.

Calgary, which lost 7-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday, is 6-3-1 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
Jon Gillies
made 35 saves.
"It was a big win just with how close we are in the standings and how important each game is," Gaudreau said. "It was kind of a bounce-back night for us after last night in Vegas -- a big win for Jonny Gillies, too."
\[WATCH: All Flames vs. Coyotes highlights\]
Derek Stepan and Kevin Connauton scored for Arizona (17-33-10), which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Antti Raanta made 33 saves.
Stepan gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead 57 seconds into the first period, the sixth straight game Arizona has scored first. Oliver Ekman-Larsson got a puck to the net that Stepan deflected. Gillies made the initial save, but Stepan got the rebound and slid it into the open side of the net.
Jordan Martinook had a chance to extend the lead on a shorthanded chance at 4:31, but Gillies made a right-pad save on Martinook's rebound after stopping his initial shot.
Bennett tied it 1-1 at 11:02 when he redirected Gaudreau's centering pass past Raanta. Bennett got a chance to play on Calgary's top line with Gaudreau and Monahan.

"I thought that they made some plays and they had some energy," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. "What we're looking for this time of the year is any sort of spark that we can get."
Gaudreau made it 2-1 at 13:18 on a blown defensive zone coverage. Arizona defensemen Jason Demers and Ekman-Larsson each followed Monahan to the far post and forward Christian Fischer got caught in the middle of the ice, allowing Gaudreau to skate down the left wing, put a move on Raanta and snap the puck in the short side for his 20th goal.
Monahan made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 8:38 of the second period. Dougie Hamilton found Monahan stationed in front of the net, and Monahan redirected the pass past Raanta for his 28th goal of the season.

"We were sluggish tonight," said Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, whose team had not played since Saturday. "We had a good start, but two blown coverages on Calgary's first and second goal, and then the power play wasn't good."
Arizona's power play went 0 for 5.
Jankowski scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 5:11 of the third period for a 4-1 lead, and Tkachuk made it 5-1 at 11:06.
Connauton brought the Coyotes within 5-2 at 17:30.

Goal of the game

Gaudreau's goal at 13:18 of the first period.

Save of the game

Gillies' save on Martinook at 4:31 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Jankowski's goal at 5:11 of the third period.

They said it

"You've got to flush this one down and get ready for back-to-back on the weekend. That's the good thing about three [games] in four [days] is you get to play right away." -- Coyotes forward Derek Stepan
"We've kind of got to get this train rolling here a little bit. This is a good start, especially a back-to-back on a team that has played well here." -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan

Need to know

Gaudreau has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in his past 12 games, and 32 points (seven goals, 25 assists) in his past 24. … Monahan leads the NHL with 11 game-winning goals this season, which ties Joe Nieuwendyk (1988-89) for second place in franchise history. Joe Mullen scored 12 in 1986-87. … Hamilton had two assists and has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past five games. … Stepan has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past eight games. … Connauton has five goals in his past 10 games.

What's next

Flames: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; SNW, ALT, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-A PLUS, PRIME, NHL.TV)