5 Things - Flames @ Coyotes

1. Last Time out

All gas.

No brakes.

It was a pedal-down type of third period for the Flames Tuesday as they scored four unanswered goals to overcome a 3-2 deficit and defeat the reeling Ottawa Senators 6-3.

Blake Coleman and Yegor Sharangovich tallied a pair of goals each, but it was Noah Hanifin who stole the show, plotting one of the finest individual performances of the season with a goal and two helpers in the third period alone, along with a season-high plus-five rating.

“It might have been his best game I’ve seen him play,” Head Coach Ryan Huska glowed of the blueliner, whose 24:47 topped all skaters in the contest. “He was really good for us tonight. Skating-wise, how he handled the puck ... He was in the rush a lot. He did a lot of really good things for us tonight.”

With Hanifin leading the charge in that thunderous third period, there were truly no passengers on this night.

Their top gunners came through when it mattered most, with Coleman (17) and Sharangovich (14) now sitting 1-2 in in the goal column, while Jacob Markstrom was excellent, yet again, with a 30-save outing that maintains a north-of-.930 save percentage since returning from a broken finger on Dec. 18.

But the most magnificent play-driver was the 21st captain in franchise lore – the man who’s now done it for 949 nights with the Flaming C emblazoned on his chest.

On the night when he tied former skipper Mark Giordano for second place in all-time games as a Flame, Mikael Backlund had a night to remember.

It started with his adorable, four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Tillie, surprising him by reading out the starting lineup before puck drop.

It finished with him leading the team with six shots on nine attempts, along with seven scoring chances and three from the high-danger areas, and one assist in 19:10 of ice time.

"A lot of good things to celebrate," Coleman said.

Indeed.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Coyotes ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 overtime win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

Nick Schmaltz scored the winner at 4:04 of the extra period, scooting off the bench, taking a pass from Clayton Keller and beating Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman with a snapshot over the glove.

(That was the only shot Swayman faced in 1:24 of work after replacing Linus Ullmark, who was helped off the ice with a lower-body injury early in OT.)

“We pride ourselves on working hard and being a tough team to play against and give the same effort every night, and the last couple of games we got away from that, and the score was pretty lopsided,” Schmaltz told NHL.com. “We wanted to come out and work hard, because everything cleans up when you work hard.”

Connor Ingram made 33 saves in the win, as he continues to author one of the great stories in the NHL this season. The 26-year-old enters tonight’s game with a 14-8-0 record, along with a .915 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average.

Ingram – a Saskatoon native – is tied with Markstrom for fifth, league-wide, with a high-danger save percentage of .876.

In their previous three games, the Coyotes were outscored 15-4 in losses to the Panthers, Islanders and Jets.

The win keeps Arizona one point up on the Flames in the wild-card race, and only one back of the Oilers for the final playoff spot.

“Our team had urgency, intensity, no quit, and our 'care’ factor was high,” Coyotes Head Coach Andre Tourigny told NHL.com. “I’m extra proud of the guys.”

This is the last of a five-game homestand for the Desert Dogs, who will begin a three-game road trip on Saturday in Minnesota, before facing the Flames on a rematch on Tuesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

3. Quick Hits

Mikael Backlund on daughter Tillie reading out the starting lineup:

“It was great. When they came into the locker-room, that was so great seeing their excitement. Very emotional. It's something we're going to look back and really cherish once they get even older and appreciate it even more. ... I saw Husk after the game and went up to him and said thank you for doing that. Not every coach will do that, so I really appreciate that he did that for me.”

Backlund will officially move past Giordano for second place on the Flames’ all-time games played list with his 950th career spin tonight at Mullett Arena.

Lil Kuzy Vert:

Yan Kuznetsov made his NHL debut on Tuesday, logging 11:58 of ice time and recording two shots on goal.

You And The 6 (Hundred):

With his two-assist effort on Tuesday, Nazem Kadri recorded the 600th point of his NHL career. Kadri now joins John Tavares (1,009), Matt Duchene (780), Ryan O’Reilly (737), Victor Headman (691) and Brayden Schenn (606) as the only six skaters from the 2009 NHL Draft class to reach the milestone. Kadri is currently riding a four-game point, recording three goals and three helpers in that span. Dating back to Dec. 5, he has 17 points (8G, 9A) in 17 games.

Stick tap to Flames PR guru Jordan Bay for compiling these stats. Download the full edition of tonight's Game Notes at the following link:

4. Fathers Trip

For the first time in four years, the Flames will be bringing some special guests along with them for this two-game road trip.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for both of us,” Connor Zary – whose father, Scott, will be taking in the festivities – told *C*algaryFlames.com colleague Chris Wahl. “I know there’s guys who’ve been playing for six, seven years who have never done a dad’s trip yet and this is their first one, so I think it’s pretty special for everyone in the locker-room and especially, speaking for myself, it’s a pretty cool moment, to enjoy it with my dad.”

Here’s a rundown of the family members the players will be bunking with this week:

Mike Tanev
Alain Huberdeau
Jan Backlund
Wayne Greer
Rusty Coleman
Tim Markstrom - Jacob's brother
Mikael Lindholm
Paris Dube
Scott Zary
Dennis Gilbert Sr.
Scott Weegar
Bob Hanifin
Phil DeSimone
Neil Duehr
Jozef Pospisil
Dan Vladar
Donald Andrysiak - Jordan Oesterle’s grandfather
Peter Mangiapane
Sam Kadri

Note: Not every player is bringing a guest due to travel-related reasons.

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Blake Coleman

With Blake being a two-time Cup winner, Rusty Coleman has been on hand for some phenomenal career moments.

But never has his boy been on a run quite like this.

With another two goals on Tuesday, Blake is now only five goals away from tying his career-high of 22. And with the Flames officially at the season’s midway mark – Game 41 – he’s currently operating on a 34-goal pace.

The 32-year-old enters tonight’s game with 19 points (11G, 8A) in 16 games dating back to Dec. 7.

Coyotes - Clayton Keller

Keller is coming off a two-point night and lead the Coyotes with 34 (14G, 20A) on the year.

The 25-year-old really popped offensively last season, scoring 37 times and adding 49 helpers for a career-high 86 points.