5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. COYOTES
Calgary kicks off the week with a tilt against Arizona
Video: Flames TV's Brendan Parker sets up game with 'Yotes
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PREGAME VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
PRE-GAME FEATURES
Projected Lineup
'Being a Leader' - Backlund
Say What - 'The Time is Now'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2021-22 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (18)
Goals - Lindholm, Nazem Kadri, Tyler Toffoli (8)
Coyotes:
Points - Clayton Keller (21)
Goals - Lawson Crouse (10)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 18.2% (26th) / PK - 79.3% (12th)
Coyotes:
PP - 22.7% (17th) / PK - 78.1% (18th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 54.67% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 53.12% (10th)
Coyotes:
Shot Attempts: 42.73% (31st)
High-Danger Chances: 36.16% (32nd)
The Flames capped off last week with a big win over Washington on Saturday night, downing their Eastern Conference visitors 5-2 on Hockey Night In Canada.
Andrew Mangiapane scored twice, Adam Ruzicka and Mikael Backlund posted three points, and Dan Vladar made 29 stops in the victory.
"A good, solid game," was head coach Darryl Sutter's assessment. "A really close game. A good third period by our club."
The trio of Ruzicka, Backlund, and Blake Coleman were particularly effective against the Capitals, amassing a combined seven points while playing hard minutes against Alexander Ovechkin.
"We're three hard-working guys and we just build off of each other every shift," Ruzicka said afterwards.
In his second game of the week, Vladar put forth another solid effort. In his two appearances over the last seven days, he's picked up two wins and posted a .935 save percentage.
Video: Mangiapane scores 2 goals to push Flames to victory
The Coyotes have struggled in the first half of their Pacific Division road trip, dropping a 5-3 decision in LA on Dec. 1 and falling 3-2 in OT in Vancouver on Dec. 3. They currently sit seventh in the Central Division with 18 points through 23 games.
In their overtime setback to the Canucks, which saw Brock Boesner net the game-winner at 4:09 of the extra frame, forward Christian Fischer and defenceman Jakob Chychrun found the back of the net, while goaltender Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves.
The Coyotes ran into penalty trouble in the loss, giving the Canucks eight chances with the man-advantage. Two of Vancouver's goals came on the powerplay, including the overtime tally.
"Just way too many penalties," Chychrun told ArizonaCoyotes.com. "That seems to be a theme for us lately, so we have to just find a way to stay out of the box. You just shoot yourself in the foot when you do that, so we have to be a little more disciplined."
"We left a point on the table. Our game at 5-on-5 was pretty good, but too penalties," Coyotes head coach Andre Tourigny added. "It's a team on the other side who feed off either turnovers or their power play, so we gave them a chance. If you give them eight powerplays, a 5-on-3, chances they will win are pretty high."
Video: Hear from Jusso Valimaki ahead of tonight's tilt
A NEW FRANCHISE LEADER: With three points on Saturday, Adam Ruzicka is now the Flames all-time points leader by Slovakian-born players with 24 career points through 45 games over the last three seasons. Ruzicka drew level in points with previous leader Ronald Petrovicky last Thursday vs. Montreal, who had 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists) in 107 games with the club over two seasons. Ruzicka has also surpassed his previous season's point total (5-5-10) which he set in 28 games during 2021-22 and is currently second in NHL scoring among Slovakianborn players with 13 points through 14 games. Ruzicka only trails New Jersey's Tomas Tatar, who currently has 15 points this year.
LONG-TIME COYOTE HUNTER: Mikael Backlund has faced off against Arizona 40 times in his career, scoring 11 goals and 21 points against them. He's put 94 shots on net in games against the Coyotes, his third-highest shot total against a club (Edmonton - 148, San Jose - 99).
REVERSE RETRO: Tonight's match-up is the second of four games that the Flames will wear their Reverse Retro jerseys, paying homage to the Pedestal jersey they wore in 1995. The Flames went 3-3-0 in their Reverse Retro jerseys from the 2021 series.
HIT PARADE: The Flames sit eighth in the NHL in hits with 675 through 24 games. Nikita Zadorov leads his club with 65 hits this year. MacKenzie Weegar (57) and Milan Lucic (56) round out the top three hitters on the Flames roster.
Flames - Mikael Backlund
The veteran centre has found his groove recently, picking up three points in the 5-2 win over the Capitals on Saturday and putting 10 shots on nets in his last two games. The 33-year-old now has 13 points through 24 games this season.
Coyotes - Matias Maccelli
The 22-year-old Finn has been red hot for the Coyotes this year, sitting second in team scoring with 16 points through 20 games. He heads into Monday evening's tilt on a four-game point streak, netting one goal and six points through that stretch.
Blake Coleman on Adam Ruzicka's play:
"He can be a really great player for us. I think he's got that size, that strength, he's got really good hands in tight, he knows how to finish ... I think for us to really take that next step as a team, he's going to be a big part of it. I think our line needs to continue to grow and to get better. Obviously it's a really good opportunity for him to establish himself."
