5 THINGS - FLAMES @ COYOTES
The Flames look to stay hot and head into the break on a high note
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's tilt
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Projected Lineup
Say What - 'Pick Up Where We Left Off'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2019-20 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (53)
Goals - Matthew Tkachuk, Andrew Mangiapane (20)
Coyotes:
Points - Clayton Keller (36)
Goals - Keller (16)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 21.5% (12th) / PK - 84.2% (5th)
Coyotes:
PP - 12.7% (32nd) / PK - 72.7% (31st)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.24% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 55.90% (2nd)
Coyotes:
Shot Attempts: 45.33% (31st)
High-Danger Chances: 44.92% (28th)
Phil Connors - that crotchety, middle-aged weatherman - always had a way with words.
"That was a pretty good day," he mused in the classic 1993 comedy. "Why couldn't I get THAT day over, and over, and over?"
We can certainly relate.
Happy Groundhog Day, Flames fans!
Less than 24 hours after a delirious comeback win over the Stars, the Flames would love nothing more than a repeat of that superb third period.
Andrew Mangiapane, Johnny Gaudreau and Oliver Kylington scored 3:37 apart as the visitors overcame a two-goal deficit to hand the Stars a crushing 4-3 loss.
The Flames were far and away the better in the closing 20, outshooting their 2020 playoff rivals 18-3 before netting a late-game trifecta. And on the winning strike, Kylington came out of the penalty box and helped execute a thrilling three-way, five-touch passing play with Elias Lindholm and Rasmus Andersson before putting it past Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger.
Bananas.
"I was praying in there, in the penalty box," the D man said of a holding infraction that put the Flames down a man with 3:57 to play in regulation. "My heart rate was pretty high."
Thankfully, the Flames got a big kill - and when he exited the sin bin, creativity took hold.
"'Somebody shoot the puck!'" Mangiapane thought as he looked on from the bench. "I think there was, what was it, six passes going back and forth?
"Hey, it was a great play and a great goal."
And, most importantly, a big two points.
Through 40 minutes, the Flames were not at their best. They were out-shot 23-22 and had difficulty penetrating the middle of the ice, with Dallas holding a 9-4 edge in high-danger looks.
But that all changed, thanks to the character in the Flames locker-room.
"That's from the group," said Associate Coach Kirk Muller. "They weren't happy with their first two periods. They spoke after the second and were like, 'We've got to play faster, play quicker, create turnovers' - the identity of our team.
"In the third period, we picked it up, we played at a faster pace and they stuck together. That's two games now. … Finding ways to win is important at this time of year until the end of the season."
Trevor Lewis rounded out the offence with his fourth of the year, 1:54 into the first period. Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar split the goaltending duties, with the latter getting credit for the win after subbing in for the third. Markstrom stopped 20 of the 23 shots he faced in the first two periods, while Vladar turned five aside in the final frame.
The Flames are now officially at the halfway point in the season and currently sit second in the Pacific on points percentage (.610).
Video: Flames score 3 late to shock Stars, win it 4-3
The Coyotes were also in action last night, stunning the Colorado Avalanche and snapping their 18-game home winning streak.
With goaltender Scott Wedgewood pulled for an extra attacker, Lawson Crouse knotted the game with 38 seconds to play, before Alex Galchenyuk tallied the lone marker in the shootout to give the Desert Dogs a 3-2 victory.
Galchenyuk added the other - his first of the season - earlier in the game, while Wedgewood finished with 38 saves against the high-powered Avs offence.
"We mentioned many times this year that we have a group with a lot of pride, a lot of character and a lot of leadership," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny told NHL.com. "The boys take pride in the way they play, the way they bounce back. They know the (Avalanche) are a really good team; they were on a roll. They arrived here with a lot of pride, they played with a lot of passion, and they battled all the way through."
It's been a dreadful year for the Coyotes, who sit last in the West with only 11 wins in 44 tries, along with a bloated, -68 goal differential.
One of the bright spots, however, has been the play of rookie puck-stopper Karel Vejmelka, who is expected to get the call tonight. The 25-year-old is currently on a personal three-game skid, but has a .902 save percentage and a 3.39 goals-against average in 26 appearances this year.
"We're lucky we had 'Vejjy' back there tonight," Coyotes forward Ryan Dzingel said after last week's 2-1 win over the Maple Leafs. "He puts in a lot of work behind the scenes, and he's prepared. For a rookie, he's unbelievably prepared and works his tail off."
Vejmelka made 45 saves that night. He's faced 40-or-more shots already three times this year - winning twice - and has been peppered with 30-plus pucks in all but seven of his 24 starts.
MULTI-GRAIN: Andrew Mangiapane recorded his 20th goal of the season last night in Dallas. It's the first time in his career that No. 88 has reached the 20-goal plateau. Nineteen of Mangiapane's 20 tallies have come on the road this season, which is tied with Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl for the most in the NHL.
BACK-TO-BACK: The Flames are in the midst of their seventh back-to-back set this season. The Flames are 3-2-1 in the second night of a two-game set, and will play another two back-to-back scenarios later this month (Feb. 9 & 10, Feb. 15 & 16) - both at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
DID YOU KNOW? Matthew Tkachuk has 15 points (6G, 9A) in 14 career games against the Arizona Coyotes. Johnny Gaudreau has 21 points (8G, 13A) in 25 games against the 'Yotes in his career.
Video: CGY@DAL: Mangiapane buries Hanifin's rebound
Flames - Chris Tanev
It wouldn't have been a victory without the efforts of Tanev and the venerable Flames' penalty-killing unit last night.
Tanev single-handedly cleared the puck three times on that late-game kill - the Flames, collectively, allowing only a single shot en route to a perfect 3-for-3 on the night.
The Flames rank fifth in the NHL with an 84.2% success rate on the PK this year, but are even stingier in the past five games, operating over 90% dating back to Jan. 24.
Coyotes - Clayton Keller
On a team starving for offence, the 23-year-old winger has delivered in a big way this year. Keller tops the Coyotes with 36 points (16G, 20G) in 44 games, and enters the night on a season-high four-game point streak (2G, 3A).
Keller is on pace for 67 points over a full 82-game schedule. That would be a new career high for the former seventh-overall pick, besting the 65 he accrued his rookie year (23G, 42A).
Associate Coach Kirk Muller on the importance of a win like Tuesday's:
"The only thing better than a win is a comeback win. We don't have a lot of those this year. Again, building on that last game and understanding that games are going to be tight, you have to stay with the game plan, stay the course and it's not going to be easy some nights. That was really on the players to grab it and say, 'Hey, we've got to find a way to get points before this All-Star Break.' Dallas took points for us last time; we had to get them this time. The league's tightening up and we have to stay the course and keep our identity."
Andrew Mangiapane on what that win says about this group:
"We have character, right? We're never out of games and it's good. We're not going to be up every single game, even though that's our goal. But it shows good character that we came back, battled back and never (gave) up."
